Trust in the Demon
by FiOeX
Summary: AR. Naruto is the Kyuubi's son, and has been forced to become a human until he gains his 6th tail, which would be in 600 years. This is his life as a human, in the good times and the bad. NaruHina in later chapters. ABANDONED
1. Prologue

_**A/N:**_ Prologue to my first multi-chapter story! Let's see what happens.

_**Chapter updated!

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**What Had Been**

**We were in a cave, one that was home to the Nekomata before he was sealed into a host. Father wanted to talk to me about something.**

"**Son, do you know how I grew up?"**

**I looked down at the human form of Father and shook my head, confused at such a strange question.**

"**I am more than a thousand years old now, but when I was young and still had my junior tails, I wrecked havoc on the land because I couldn't control my power."**

"**But couldn't you have just shape-shifted into a human form like now?"**

"**We can only shape-shift when we gain our 6****th**** tail."**

**I started thinking what this had to do with me. Then it hit me.**

"**I'll be able to control it, right? Cause you'll be watching over me, right?" I got more desperate and started thinking all sorts of crazy ideas. Was he going to kill me? Cut off my tail!**

**Father sighed, "No child. The power of the tails are far too strong for you to control right now, you actually have more potential than me."**

**He looked at me with a little regret.**

"**I'm sorry, son. I have thought through this for many weeks, and I have decided that the best thing for you right now is to transform you for a while. You will have to live as a human."**

"**Human? You mean the mortals? But…"**

"**There's no but's. I wish for you to grow as a ninja."**

"**Ninja?" I knew Father had made this decision long ago and wouldn't change his mind. Still, the thought of being human was strange to me. "Will I still be able to see you?" I asked.**

**His red eyes got a sad gleam. "I'm sorry, Naruto, but we probably won't be meeting anytime soon." I was horrified. Not being able to see Father? How lonely would I be?**

"**I don't want to." I whimpered. "I can control my tails, I promise."**

"**Do not worry, son, we will meet again eventually. Now, let us start the process."**

**I nodded and watched as red chakra surrounded him and he morphed into his true form of a fox. Now it was me who was looking up. "Will this hurt?" I asked.**

"**No, you will be asleep before the process has even begun. But after you awake, you will be about one human year old. And you will not see me again."**

**Demons did not cry, and yet it felt like my heart was being ripped apart by despair. Father had been the only being I knew, now I wouldn't be able to see him any more.**

"**Goodbye, Father."**

"**Goodbye, Naruto."**

**Three of his tails wrapped around me. All I could see was red, but that gradually darkened into a liquid black.**

**First thing I heard was muttering, most talking at the same time. But the voices, so… soft, high-pitched, human.**

**I opened my eyes, and noticed that my vision was, well whiter. Usually there was always a tint of red, but apparently mortals were clearer. I suddenly realised where I was, on someone's lap. My eyes widened.**

"**It's awake."**

**Instantly, all talking stopped, and eyes bore holes in my head.**

"**Hello." An elderly voice from above me. I look up to see an old human man with a large hat bearing the kanji for fire looking at me with a gentle smile. **

"**Interesting, you're not afraid of me." I murmur. His smile stretches.**

"**Of course, the Yondaime made me promise to raise you well. And anyway, we owed your father a favour for saving Konoha 10 years ago."**

"**Are you going to take care of me? Am I gonna be a ninja?" I ask excitedly, after all, this was such a new experience.**

"**Are you joking!" the citizen's council member shouts. "Why the heck would we want a **_**demon**_** to be a ninja?" and was met with mutters of approval.**

"**Quiet!" the man shouts. He looks back at me. "Of course… ah what was your name?"**

"**My name is Naruto, though I don't have a last name."**

"**My name is Hiruzen Sarutobi, though you should probably call me Sandaime Hokage, or just Hokage-sama."**

**I chuckle, "Aren't you a little old to still be Hokage, old man?" He chuckles back.**

"**I suppose I am, Naruto. Now about your last name. How about Uzumaki, eh?"**

"**Perfect, old man."**

Naruto's dad, the Kyuubi needed someone to raise little Naruto. Konohakagure owed Kyuubi a favour and so the Sandaime made an agreement with the Kyuubi that Naruto could be raised there. Kyuubi's arrival killed around 30 people when they thought it was attacking the village, including Iruka's parents.

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A/N:**_ Ok so that was kinda made on the spot. Any questions or queries send a review. Until next time, Ja ne! **This chapter has been updated after my 15th chapter. Many bits in this have been modified and are different from the oridinal. **


	2. Team 7

_**Disclaimers:**_ I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in it. I am only using them for entertainment purposes.

_**A/N: **_I read that Masashi Kishimoto was going to make Naruto the fox's son so I decided to write a fanfic with Naruto exactly that.

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**Team 7**

At first, everybody went quiet and stared, then the whispers came and everybody tried get as far away from him as possible.

It was the end of the year, but it was the first time 12-year-old Naruto Uzumaki had ever been in Ninja Academy. 'This is the worst idea ever.' He thought. _Everyone is scared. I only wanted to see what it was like in Ninja Academy. Maybe homeschooling isn't that bad._

Naruto was the Kyuubi's son. Even though he was technically an all powerful demon, he hadn't had anyone to help him fight. He knew a little, and that was enough to keep the annoying villagers away.

Naruto walked into his classroom and sat down in the back corner of the room. Some of the tougher kids started sneering at him, calling him things like 'demon' and saying that The Hokage should kill him. He ignored them. The rest of the class just eyed him warily and leaned away from him.

_This is gonna suck. _He thought.

Just then Iruka Umino walked in. (_**A/N:**_ I've changed a few characters in this fanfic. Please don't kill me.) He looked at the now quite students and when he laid eyes on Naruto his eyes narrowed in disgust. He hated Naruto because The Nine-Tailed Fox killed his parents.

The class started normally, Iruka was testing them on the transformation justu. They were required to turn into a small animal for spying missions.

Naruto gulped. Whenever he tried to turn into an animal he would turn into a fox with red fur, long ears and a large tail. He knew he would scare the living daylights out of everyone.

It was Naruto's turn to try. He walked up to the front of the classroom and looked around. "Iruka-sensei, this isn't a good idea." He said.

"Do it now, Naruto." he replied in a cold voice.

Naruto breathed in and brought his hands together. "Transformation justu." He said and he was hidden in a puff of smoke. He tried to be a rat, he really did, but for some stupid reason his body changed him into a shoulder high fox.

Shocked silence filled the room, then screams were everywhere.

_What a nice first impression I've made._ He thought, dripping with sarcasm, and quickly changed back. _But seriously, I've been living here for 11 years, can't they get it in their heads that I'm not going to kill them??_

When things finally calmed down, Iruka glared at Naruto, "How dare you change into that? Sit in your seat and stay there." Then he turned to the class. "Class dismissed." and everyone ran out of the classroom.

Iruka was gone for a while, so Naruto naturally got bored. He made the tiger sign (_**A/N: **_I think that sort of represents fire.) and created a marble of fire to play with.

He bounced it in his hand and threw it in the air, then he allowed the rushing wind blow it out. _The only reason I'm here is to graduate to genin, why does it have to be so complicated._

The door opened and in walked in Iruka and the Sandaime Hokage. The Hokage was pretty much the only person who wasn't either afraid of him or hated him to the point of killing.

"What did you do wrong, Naruto?" he asked.

Naruto bowed his head and stood up. "I-well I-um…"

"He transformed into the demon fox!" shouted Iruka.

"I didn't mean to, it just happened!" he replied, his own temper flaring.

"Calm down, both of you." The Hokage said.

"I know that Naruto is more than capable of being a genin. We can test you to see if are good enough to be in a three-man team." he said.

"What's a three-man team?" Naruto asked.

"When you pass to genin you are put into three-man teams lead by a jonin. You would do D-ranked missions and when you're more experienced you can do C-ranked missions."

"When should he take the exams?" Iruka said in a defeated tone.

"Why, we'll do it right now."

"Nani?!"

(**Time skip.** Naruto successfully passes and now sits in the classroom)

"Team 7 will consist of Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki." Iruka said. He looked up from his list to see Sakura staring ant Sasuke dreamily, Sasuke ignoring her and Naruto looking at both of them as if waiting for them to realise a demon was in their team.

The rest of the class seemed to be relieved and pitying at the same time.

(**Time skip. **Team 7 is waiting in the classroom waiting for their very late jonin instructor to arrive.)

Sasuke eyed Naruto warily while Sakura stared at Sasuke, but still keeping an eye on Naruto.

Naruto stared back at Sasuke, but soon got bored. _Where is that guy? He's probably a lazy ass jonin to be this late, I mean it's been two hours already!_

His sensitive ears finally picked up the sound of someone walking down the hall.

"Finally." He muttered.

The door creaked open, and in walked… a scarecrow?

The jonin was reasonably tall, with a green vest and a blue mask. His freaky silver hair seemed to defy all the laws of gravity. His hitai-ate was on his forehead and covered his left eye. He closed his other eye.

"Yo!" he said cheerfully.

"YOU'RE LATE!!!" Sakura shouted.

"Sorry, I got lost on the road of life."

All three genin sweat-dropped. Then Naruto shouted, "That has got to be THE LAMEST excuse I have EVER heard!!"

Kakashi shrugged, then introduced himself. "I am Kakashi Hatake, your team leader. I will train you and take you on missions until. Come up to the roof, you can talk about yourselves there."

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_**A/N:**_ My second story, hope you like it. **This chapter has been updated after my 15th chapter, and I have deleted a lot, so yes, it is short.**

Comments and critism very welcome.


	3. The Two Bells

_**A/N:**_ **_Updated chapter!_**

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The Two Bells**

"Introduce yourselves one at a time." Kakashi said. They were on the roof of the academy.

"What do we talk about?" Sakura asked.

"I dunno, things you like, things you don't like, goals for the future, hobbies…"

"Well, why don't you go first, sensei?" Sakura asked.

"Me? Well, my name is Kakashi Hatake. Things I like and don't like, I don't really feel like telling you that. My dreams for the future? Never thought about that deeply. Hobbies, hmm, I have lots of hobbies."

All three genin sweat-dropped. _So all we really learned was his name, and we already knew that._ Naruto thought.

"Ok, you on the left start." Kakashi said.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I like… ramen I suppose. I don't like really thick and stupid people. My dreams are to be really powerful and my hobbies? Uhh, never really thought about that either."

_Not what I expected, but the boy isn't what everyone was telling me._ Kakashi thought. "Next."

"I'm Sakura Haruno, I like…well (blushes at Sasuke) I don't like a certain pig called Ino, my dream for the future is… (giggles at Sasuke) my hobby is…well (looks at Sasuke). (_**A/N:**_ I've made Sakura a Sasuke fan girl and her hobby is staring at Sasuke's face.)

_Boy, love these days._ _I just hope she gets out of fan girl mode or she won't make a good kunoichi. _Kakashi thought. "Uh-huh, next."

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate a lot of things, I only like a few things like my talent at fighting, I haven't a dream but I swear I will kill a certain someone and restore my clan to its formal glory. I have no hobbies."

_Hmm, he's a very dark boy, I'll have to make sure he isn't hell-bent on revenge._

"Ok, tomorrow I will give you a test, a survival test. You have to pass my test or move back to the academy." Kakashi said.

"WHAT?!" Sakura shouted.

"I just turned into a genin, I can't go back to the academy!" shouted Naruto.

Kakashi shrugged. Then you'll just have to pass my test. But I'll warn you, _nobody_ has ever passed my test."

The three were shocked.

"Well I bet we'll be the first ones to do it!" Naruto exclaimed, excitement clear in his eyes.

Kakashi did a closed-eye smile. _That boy's got spirit._ "Ok, come to the training ground 7 at eight o'clock tomorrow and we'll see just how determined you are. Oh and you might wanna skip breakfast, you'll throw up."

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Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke were waiting at the training grounds for their sensei to appear. Two hour chugged by.

Suddenly Kakashi appeared in a puff of smoke in front of them.

"Yo." He said cheerfully.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!!!!? WE HAVE BEEN WAITING HERE FOR TWO STINKING HOURS!!!!"

"Uh, sorry about that," he said scratching the back of his head, "an old lady needed help crossing the road."

"MAN! You and your lame excuse!" Naruto said, throwing his hands in the air in defeat.

Kakashi shrugged. "Ok, here are the rules." He said. He dug into his pocket and showed them two bells. "The aim is to get these bells. But one of you will have to sacrifice themselves to let the others have the bells. The one without a bell will go back to the academy, well, that is if you even get a bell, which you probably won't."

Kakashi magically brought out a timer and set it on one of the posts. "You have until noon to get these bells. Oh and one more thing, the loser or the worst person will be tied to this post and watch while the others eat.

Three stomachs growled. "Oh that is so mean, no wonder you told us not to eat." Naruto said rubbing his stomach.

"Heh, ok, remember to come at me with the intent to kill, I won't mind. The test starts now." Kakashi slammed down the start button on the timer while the three genin leapt into a hiding place.

Kakashi looked around and smiled. "Rule number 1. Always try to take your opponent by surprise." (_**A/N:**_ I've made up some rules by the way.)

"Kage Bushin no Justu!" a voice shouted and ten Naruto's charged at Kakashi.

Kakashi ducked from a punch and slashed the shadow clone with his kunai. It disappeared in a puff of smoke. Three other shadow clones tried using kunai to stab him but he jumped out of the way and destroyed them with a swipe of his own kunai. The others met the same fate.

Naruto stood facing Kakashi. "It'll take a lot more than that to beat me." Kakashi said.

"Ok! Ohhh, I'm going to try something out!"

Red chakra swirled around Naruto completely covering him like a cloak, except the cloak extended for a tail and long ears. Naruto blue eyes turned red and his nails turned into sharp claws. His teeth turned sharp and the three whisker marks on either side of his head grew more feral.

Kakashi looked stunned at Naruto.

"Yay, I finally get to try this out on someone. Don't worry Kakashi-sensei, this cloak is draining and I won't be able to hold it for long."

Naruto brought his right hand up and punched with an open hand. The chakra surrounding the arm extended and grew bigger incredibly fast and before he could move Kakashi was gripped by the chakra hand.

The hand pulled Kakashi back towards very happy Naruto. "Yay I got the bells!" he shouted as he plucked the bells from the side of Kakashi's pants.

Suddenly the Kakashi in Naruto's hand poofed into smoke and a hand came out of the ground and grabbed Naruto's leg and pulls him under ground until only his head can be seen.

Naruto looks up to see a smug Kakashi holding the bells Naruto previously had. "Nice and warm in there? Don't worry, I'll get you out in about three hours, ok?"

He brings out a book from his pouch and starts reading it. "ICHA ICHA PARADISE!? You're reading that perverted book now!? Jeez." Naruto pouts.

Suddenly two shurikan flies at Kakashi's head but amazingly, while still reading the book, he brings out two kunai and catches the shurikan with them.

Kakashi then starts leaping towards the bushes where the shurikan came from and disappears into the forest.

"Damn it." Naruto curses. "And I was so close." He surrounds himself in red chakra and makes it expand. The earth holding Naruto explodes and when the dust clears Naruto is standing in a large crater.

"I'll show him." And bounds of towards where he saw Kakashi head towards.

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A/N:**_ I like this chapter. **This chapter has been updated after my 15th chapter. **Comments and critism welcome.


	4. Post of Teamwork

_**A/N: **_I hope this chapter turns out ok. _**Chapter updated!

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**Post of Teamwork**

Kick, punch, kick. _Hah. _Sasuke thought and while Kakashi held him in an awkward position, Sasuke used his free hand to grab the bells. That would have been a great move had not Kakashi, in a flash, threw him away.

_Hmm, that was a close one._ Kakashi thought. Sasuke runs and throws a kunai at Kakashi but as it hits he poofs into a log. _Where is he?_ Sasuke thought. Suddenly a hand shoots up from the ground and grabs Sasuke's leg.

Once Sasuke's body is buried Kakashi smirks, "Don't worry, I'll get you out sooner or later." and walks off.

Unlike Naruto though, Sasuke didn't have exploding chakra, so he had to settle with trying to dig his way out… without much success.

_Umm, where did Sasuke go…oh. _Sakura stopped suddenly as she saw Kakashi standing there reading a book. 'Phew, he didn't see me.' She thought as she carefully backed away.

"Sakura, behind you."

Hundreds of leaves started fluttering around and just as quickly vanished.

'That was weird.' She thought.

"Sakura…"

"Huh?" She turned around and saw Sasuke with shurikan and kunai sticking everywhere on his body and covered in blood.

Naruto was still looking for Kakashi when he heard a piercing scream. "Looks like he got Sakura." He muttered and started running but then he nearly tripped over something.

"Huh?" Naruto said but as he turned around at the object he burst into laughter. Staring back at him with killer intent was the head of Sasuke, still stuck in the ground.

Once the fits of laughter subsided to giggles, which took 5 minutes, Sasuke's glare hadn't subsided, in fact, it got worse.

"Ah ha, ok Sasuke, since you're my teammate, and even though you are a really annoying bastard, I'll get you out."

Naruto reached out a hand and put his chakra around the submerged body. Sasuke eyed the ominous red chakra warily.

Then the chakra exploded, and in the large crater stood a shocked Sasuke and a giggling Naruto.

"Ahh, Naruto tried to kill Sasuke!" A voice screamed.

Sasuke and Naruto turned to see Sakura with wide eyes and her hands covering her mouth.

"What?! No, I didn't…" Naruto started.

"Sasuke! Kill him, kill him!" She shouted.

"What is going on?"

All three turned to see Kakashi standing on the side of the crater.

"Kakashi-sensei, I didn't do anything, I mean, I got Sasuke out of the ground, I didn't try to kill him…" he mumbled.

"Don't worry, I know you meant no harm. Come on, let's go back to the training grounds and sort this out."

Once they were at the training grounds, Kakashi turned to Sakura. "Now, Sakura, why did you accuse Naruto of such a thing?"

"I saw it with my own eyes, Kakashi-sensei. Naruto was standing next to the crater with Sasuke in it."

Kakashi sighed. 'I should have known this would cause problems.' He thought.

_**Flash Back**_

"_He means no harm, but the other jonin would reject him fiercely." The Hokage said sadly. "He is such a kind, enthusiastic kid, yet everyone hates him."_

"_Don't worry, Hokage-sama." Kakashi said. "I'll be his teacher, but the other students..."_

"_I just hope they can learn to trust him too." He said._

"_I'll do my best."_

_**End Flash Back**_

"We shall be doing the test again, but Sakura, you will be tied to the post and watch while the others eat. And you two. Do not feed her, that is the law. You will be severely punished if you do." He said and started tying Sakura to the post. Once he finished he disappeared.

Naruto and Sasuke started to eat while Sakura looked hungry and vulnerable. Naruto couldn't stand it anymore. He lifted the chopsticks with rice and held it to Sakura's mouth.

"Here, eat it, we'll need everyone's strength to pass Kakashi-sensei's test."

Sakura looked shocked at the food, then at Naruto's face, then at the food again with hunger. The opened her mouth and ate the rice.

Sasuke also started feeding Sakura, all knowing the consequences if they were caught.

Suddenly dark clouds filled the sky and lightning was heard. Kakashi appeared in a flurry of leaves in front of them.

"YOU!!!!" Kakashi said in a dark tone. "PASS!!" he said cheerfully and the clouds disappeared.

"Huh?!" all three said.

"You pass." He repeated again.

"But, why?" Sakura said.

"You see, the point of this test was for you to use teamwork. Before, when you accused Naruto of harming Sasuke, I was going to fail you all, because you can't have a two-man-team, it has to be three. But now I see you can trust each other fairly well, so you pass."

"Yay, I'm finally a ninja!" Naruto screamed and ran around in circles.

Sasuke had a grin on his face while Sakura also had a smile.

(**Time Skip: **The team are in the forest trying to catch a certain cat…")

Naruto pops his head out from a tree and speaks into his headphones, "Target in sight."

"Good," the other voice said, "on my signal, attack."

"Go!"

The three genin spring into action and Naruto pounces onto the cat. Unfortunately he misses and the cat scatters up a tree.

"Damn, missed it." Naruto curses.

The team and the jonin look up into the trees where the cat stands.

"Great, now what do we do?" Sakura moaned.

"Che." Sasuke exclaims and throws a kunai just above the cat.

The cat loses balance and falls… hitting Naruto on the head. Before the cat could run away though, red chakra holds it in place.

"Got you now kitty." Naruto said smugly but couldn't smile hard from the cat scratching his face.

"Good work, team." Kakashi said. "Let's go back to the Hokage's tower."

(**Time Skip:** they are in the Hokage's tower with the cat.)

"Oh my poor little Tora, you were probably so scared out there in the horrible woods, well don't worry, mummy's here." The fat lady said as she hugged the cat extremely hard.

The team and the Hokage sweat-dropped. "Well no wonder the cat ran away." Sakura said.

After the Feudal Lord's wife leaves, Naruto starts arguing with the Hokage.

"We have been getting D-ranked missions the whole time, they are so lame, why can't we get a C or B-ranked mission this time?" Naruto complained.

"Naruto, don't be so rude to the Hokage." Sakura said.

The Hokage begins his speech. "There are different ranks for different missions, and depending on the mission, it is ranked from-"

"Come on, old man, we already know all that!" Naruto states.

"Naruto, this is the Hokage you are talking back to." Kakashi says.

"Hmm, ok Naruto I'll give you a C-ranked mission." The Hokage said.

"Really? Great"

"Come in Tazuna."

They all turned towards the door and in came a scruffy man with old dirty clothes and seemed to be drunk while holding a bottle of beer.

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A/N: **_**This chapter** **has been updated after my 15th chapter, there are a few differences to the original. Ja!**


	5. C ranked mission or was it A?

_**A/N: **_I won't have the speech that Naruto gives when he stabs his hand because I don't really like it ok? _**Chapter updated!

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**C-ranked mission… or was it A?**

"What the, are you kidding me? These are the so-called ninja's you expect to protect me? Just a bunch of snot-nosed brats." The man lifts the bottle of sake and glugs it down.

"And you, the shorty with the funny marks on your face, are you seriously the one who's gonna protect me?"

"Hey! I may be short, but I can kick your ass in a second!"

"You?! Ha! You couldn't even beat my grandson!"

"Hey, I am a ninja ya know."

The man takes another drink, sighs, and looks at them. "I'm Tazuna, the bridge builder. I need to get back to The Land of Waves so I can make a bridge that will change the lives of our people and I expect to get there safe and sound even if it costs you your lives."

Naruto finally calms down and turns away from Tazuna with his arms crossed. "Fine we'll protect you but you better not underestimate me."

(**Time skip)**

The group are still walking on the road. The weather is clear and the forest around the road is quiet… perhaps too quiet.

"Mr Tazuna?" Sakura says.

"What is it?" replied Tazuna.

"Well you're from The Land of Waves, right?"

"Yeah, what of it?"

"Kakashi-sensei, are there ninjas there?"

"No." Kakashi replied. "The small island has no need for protection because they are protected by the sea. Don't worry, Sakura, we don't have to worry about any ninjas attacking us on a C-ranked mission." But out of the corner of his eye Kakashi saw that Tazuna had started to sweat.

After a while as they walked, Kakashi noticed a puddle. _Hmm, strange, it has been clear for the past few days._ But the group walked past it.

Naruto tensed as he sensed a chakra flare and whipped around in time to see two masked ninjas with a chain between them jump out of the puddle he saw earlier.

Since Naruto was the last person, Naruto was right in the firing line of the serrated chain the ninjas wrapped it around him first.

By now the others had turned around and quick as a flash, Kakashi's two shadow clones he made earlier dragged the two ninjas to their waist into the ground. Unfortunately, the two ninjas were also clones and they disappeared soon after.

"Where are they?" Sakura stutters from fright.

Then the ninjas charge again but this time aiming for Sakura.

Sakura freezes and the ninjas smile but out of no where a shurikan rams into the middle of the chain and embeds itself into a tree, with a kunai following to stop it from coming loose.

_Sasuke saved me. _Sakura cheered.

Sasuke jumps up and kicks the two ninjas in the face, causing the chain to break. The ninjas spread out, one aiming for Naruto and the other towards Tazuna.

Naruto, seeing the ninja charge Tazuna, tries to reach them but he forgot about the ninja going for him and narrowly dodges a swipe from him. He felt a burning pain on his hand and sees the wound from the claws of the ninja that had scratched him with poison.

_Damn it. _He thought. _I've got to heal it before- _Naruto suddenly saw that the ninja going towards Tazuna came to an abrupt stop when Kakashi's arm held his neck causing him to be knocked out and then grabbing the ninja in front of Naruto too.

The burning became stronger so Naruto used his chakra to heal it. He breathed a sigh of relief as the pain subsided. He looked up to see Kakashi tying up the ninjas to a tree.

The two had woken up and asked, "Ho-how did you know of our ambush?"

"A puddle on a clear day when it hasn't rained in days is a pretty good giveaway to me." He replied, then turned to Naruto, "Are you ok? Sorry I didn't help you earlier."

"It's ok, I've healed it." He replied.

_Ah, that's right, he can heal instantly with his chakra. But I still shouldn't have let him get hurt. It was careless of me. _Kakashi thought. He turned to Tazuna.

"These ninja came specially to kill one of us, do you know if it was you?"

"…"

"Tazuna!"

"Ok, you see, the bridge I will build will break the control of a man called Gato, you've heard of him. He took interest in our little village and took over our transport and shipping. Anyone who stood in his way simply vanished."

"Tazuna, if ninjas will attack you, this is meant to be a B-ranked mission. You didn't say anything about ninjas so this was classified as a C-ranked mission. Why?"

"I couldn't pay for a B-ranked mission, I'm very poor, and I'm all the villagers hope. But it doesn't matter if a ninja kills me. My daughter will just hate you all forever; my grandson will cry 'Grandpa, grandpa!! Why did you die??!!' and all of the villagers will hate the Konoha Shinobi till the end of them." Tazuna replied in a nonchalant voice.

All three twitched.

"Ok, we'll still protect you, but you will have to pay for it when you can."

"Thank you."

(**Time Skip**)

Suddenly through the fog the half completed bridge looms into sight. Cranes and scaffolding cover the surface.

"We're approaching the shore." The man steering the boat says.

They enter a tunnel and soon the only light was at the end of the tunnel. Once they emerge they find a clear area of water surrounded on the sides with small houses. The group step onto the wharf. The boat drives off.

"Ok, take me to my home in one piece." Tazuna said.

"Alright." Kakashi replied. _The next ninja Gato sends won't be chunin, but jonin, elite ninja with deadly skills. Hmm._

They start to walk on a dirt road again surrounded by trees. Naruto keeps alert with his specialised hearing and suddenly he hears a whooshing sound. Small enough for the others not to hear but since Naruto was actually a fox with very good hearing he heard it.

"Duck!" he screams to the others and they all hit the ground as a very large guillotine-like sword spirals over them. (_**A/N:**_ The next part is all made up)

"Ah, so it is the boy who rescued his companions… for a few seconds."

The group look up to see a half-shirtless man with bandages covering his head standing on his big sword embedded into a tree.

Kakashi gasped. "Zabuza Momochi!" he said menacingly.

The man chuckles. "Ah, it's so nice to know I'm famous!"

"You're in my Bingo book, said that you were a rogue ninja from The Village Hidden in the Mist." He replied casually, but inside he was shouting curses. _Damn it, why did it have to be him, if he gets past me, my team and the bridge builder are as good as dead. I'll have to finish him off quickly._

"Let me at him." Naruto said.

"No Naruto, not this time, he's a jonin like me, and very deadly. Guard the bridge builder, all of you, I'm fighting him alone."

Zabuza looked at the boy who shouted and instantly recognised the markings on his face when they were taught about the Nine-Tailed Fox and its son. He chuckles again.

"Well, I'd never thought I'd see the day where I meet the Nine-Tailed Fox's son." He says.

Zabuza turns towards some bushes. "Haku, come and meet it. You always said you hated demons with a passion. Here's the chance to kill one."

Beside Zabuza suddenly appeared a boy, around the same age as Naruto, wearing a mask with red markings on it. The boy takes the mask off. "I guess I won't need a mask anymore." He said. He turns to Naruto.

"You are the Kyuubi's son? I want to fight you alone." He said in a dark tone. The reason he hated demons so much was because the Two-Tailed Cat had killed him entire clan, leaving him the only one with their kekkei genkei.

_**

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A/N: **_I kinda liked it. **This chapter has been updated after my 15th chapter. Some bits HAVE been modified and different from the original. Enjoy!**


	6. Haku Absolutly Loathes Demons

_**A/N: **_Next chapter, hope you like it. Oh and Haku is kinda violent. (Rating gone up.) _**Chapter updated!

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**_

**Haku Absolutely Loathes Demons**

"You're a monster! I'm gonna tear your limbs off one by one and stab you the number of my clan killed."

Naruto stared in awe. "Wow, you are passionate."

"SHUT UP!" Haku screamed and charged at an incredible speed. Kakashi tried to move but Zabuza's sword swipes at him, blocking the way. "Oh no, you're my opponent."

Haku pulled out her throwing needles and threw them at Naruto, which were swiped by Naruto's chakra covered hands. Haku realised that the needles couldn't penetrate. _His companions, I'll go for them to distract him into helping them. _He thought in a feverous manner.

He linked his fingers together. "**Secret jutsu: Crystal ice mirrors!**" Haku heads for Sasuke and surrounds him with mirrors. Sasuke tries fireball jutsu but unfortunately the ice didn't melt.

Suddenly needles came from everywhere and scratched Sasuke. He yelled in pain and was thrown back onto the ground.

"Sasuke!" yelled Sakura. "Sakura, stay there with Tazuna, I'll go help Sasuke!" Naruto yelled and charged off towards the mirrors holding Sasuke.

He stopped outside the cage just as another barrage of needles hit Sasuke. I_f I go in I'll be trapped in there too, and that's just what he wants._ But suddenly the mirrors started moving and surrounded him. He tried to hop out of it but before he could needles not only skimmed his skin but actually dug into his body.

And Sasuke was still in it too.

Naruto surrounded himself with his cloak and ran towards Sasuke but when he tried to grab him he backed away from the intimidating cloak.

Naruto got frustrated. "Sasuke, you idiot, forget about me being a scary demon and trust me!"

The needles were coming at them so Naruto jumped in front of Sasuke to block the attack. This went on for a while, neither gaining the advantage.

Unfortunately, Naruto's human body wasn't able to create chakra as quickly as a fox form and the cloak weakened, allowing a few needles to jab into him.

Slowly the cloak diminished and Naruto was on all fours puffing from chakra exhaustion. He had used up most of his chakra and he had to wait for his body to make more, which wouldn't take more than a few minutes, but time wasn't on their side.

Haku seemed to be in all the mirrors at the same time. He looked at Naruto. "So, there is a limit to you power. Well, I'll just have to make the most of it." The needles flew, completely ignoring Sasuke who lay shocked, and sunk their tips into Naruto. He winced.

He could feel he was about to blackout, the darkness threatened to overtake his senses. He pried his eyes open and saw that Sasuke had jumped in front of him and Haku was calmly walking towards them.

"Boy," Haku said. "You should leave now, I don't want to kill you, just the thing behind you."

"No way." Sasuke muttered and charged with shurikan and kunai in hand. He threw the shurikan at Haku, who deflected them with a needle, and jumped into the air while throwing the kunai.

As Haku dodged the kunai Sasuke made signs and then the tiger sign. "**Fire style: Fireball jutsu!**" he shouted as he held his fingers to his mouth and blew out fire.

Haku retreated back into his mirrors and started throwing needles again.

Meanwhile, Kakashi and Zabuza were sizing each other up. Kakashi said, "I can't believe you're working for Gato." He said as he lifted the headband of his eye.

Zabuza chuckled. "He pays good." And charged with his sword. Kakashi blocked it with his kunai, but he knew the kunai wouldn't hold much longer. Zabuza jumped back and started to make hand signs. "**Water style: Hidden mist jutsu**."

They were suddenly engulfed in a thick mist where nothing could be seen unless it was closer than two metres. Zabuza disappeared. Then a voice was heard. "Heart, brains, liver, lungs, throat. So many ways to kill someone."

Kakashi's eyes widened. _The bridge builder!_

Sakura was guarding Tazuna when a thick fog surrounded them. "Stay close to me Mr Tazuna." It became eerily quiet.

Out of nowhere, a big sword started to come down on them. In a rush, Kakashi stabbed him in the stomach. The water clone melted back into water. There was a swipe and another sword cut into Kakashi's chest. Then Zabuza backed away into the mist again.

Kakashi looked at the gash on his chest. It wasn't too bad because he leaned back as he struck. "Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura whispered in a frightened voice.

"Don't worry." He replied and touched his right thumb into the blood. He made several hand seals and slammed his hand onto the ground. Then he waited.

Then suddenly heard lots of barking and the mist started to clear away a bit until he could see Zabuza with nin-dogs all over him holding him down.

"What?" Zabuza stuttered.

"You see, Zabuza, I let you cut me so some of my blood could be on you for my nin-dogs to get you." Kakashi said.

Kakashi started making hand seals and from his right hand came a ball of lightning with thousands of chirping sounds. "My Sharingan can tell the future, and your future, is death!" and charged at Zabuza.

Naruto watched as Sasuke was, once again, being pummelled by hundreds of needles. _Oh god, Sasuke's gonna _"**Die**!"

The air seemed to explode with chakra, the sheer immensity of it made everyone in the country aware of the great power and shudder from it.

The mirrors shattered and the mist was blown away in seconds. Swirling red surrounded Naruto's body, but instead of covering him, his whole body went dark in the chakra and started to grow.

When it stopped growing it was as tall as a two story house. The chakra seemed to swirl back into itself and it revealed a red fox with black feet and only one tail with a black tip.

The great demon roared in rage. Chakra started to swirl around him again. It looked at Haku with red eyes full of anger. "**YOU!**" The fox shouted and his tail shot out towards a terrified Haku.

He held Haku in his tail and held him to his face. The fox growled. Chakra surrounded Haku and started burning him. He screamed in pain. But Naruto enjoyed it.

But then something clicked in Naruto's mind. The human part of him was screaming to let him go, but a demon has much more rage levels than mortals and that side of him tried to crush the miniscule human part into nothing.

Then the human part shot back all the memories of being human, of learning from The 3rd Hokage, how he graduated and the team he was put into. Those memories seemed to make the demon side submit and slowly he released Haku who had already blacked out.

Chakra swirled around him as if he were about to transform again but this time it was to change back human. But when he changed back he didn't realise that he used up all of his chakra and he fainted.

Kakashi was charging at Zabuza when he felt it. Power so huge it made him cringe back internally at it. His **Lightning Blade** diminished, the nin-dogs disappeared and Zabuza was free, if he would at all, but he was staring at the fox that had Haku in his tail.

They both watched in horror as Haku was burnt and then a few seconds later fall onto the ground. They saw Naruto change back and fall limply to the ground joining Haku.

Zabuza leapt to Haku in a second and grabbed her and disappeared into the trees.

Kakashi went to check on Naruto when he heard a shout, "Don't go near it, it'll kill you."

Kakashi turned to see Tazuna had said it. "Don't worry, Mr Tazuna, he's not going to kill me." And continued to head towards Naruto's body.

He knelt down and checked he was still breathing and checked the pulse. _Just chakra exhaustion, nothing too major._ He lifted his body and carried him while heading towards Sasuke who was sitting on the ground.

"Are you ok, Sasuke?" he asked. "Yeah, just need to get these out." He said indicating the needles. Sakura and Tazuna walked up to them, but Tazuna looked warily at Naruto. Sasuke noticed.

"Ok, we'll talk about this at Tazuna's home." Kakashi said and they were soon headed towards his house with Kakashi piggybacking Naruto.

_**

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A/N:**_ Well that got serious. **This chapter has been updated after my 15th chapter. Be warned, it is quite different from the original.**

Comments and critism welcome.


	7. Foxy Problems

_**A/N:**_ Next chapter… to anyone who reads it. _**Chapter updated!

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**_

**Foxy Problems**

He was lying on a bed, that much he knew. His eyelids felt like stones, but managed to lift them.

He was in a small room with a bed, a desk and a lamp but other than that it was empty. His acute hearing allowed him to hear voices from another room.

He heard Kakashi and Tazuna, and there was occasionally a woman's and boy's voice. He propped himself up onto his elbows and slid off the bed.

After he went down stairs and past the small hallway, he saw another door where Kakashi and the others were. He opened it. He looked at the dining table and saw his teammates and Kakashi there, as well as Tazuna and a woman and a boy younger than himself.

**(Earlier)**

**Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura, Tazuna, a young woman and a small boy are sitting around a table. **

"**Ok, Naruto is not dangerous, so no need to worry. But I will have to tell the Hokage about this." Kakashi said.**

**Everyone nodded, except for the small boy. "Mama, what demon is he? Aren't demons bad and kill people?"**

**Tsunami looked at Inari and smiled, "No Inari, the demon wont kill you." Then looked at Kakashi with a look saying 'Right?!'**

**Kakashi looked at her seriously. "Of course, remember, he is just a boy."**

**That's when the door opened.**

"Uh, hi." Naruto said weakly. "Hello Naruto, how are you feeling." Kakashi said.

"Oh, uh, yeah I feel fine Kakashi-sensei." He replied looking sad. "I'm sorry about before, I guess I went a little overboard."

There was a pause. Naruto studied their faces. The small boy was looking at him curiously, but seemed to be depressed from something inside, the young lady who he assumed was the boy's mother studied him for a threat but apparently only found a boy.

Sasuke and Sakura were slightly frightened, but the days of doing missions together had decreased their fear.

Since Kakashi's face was covered, it was hard to tell what he was thinking, but his eyes were soft and caring, one of the few people who saw Naruto as a regular human being living in this world.

"Naruto," Kakashi started, "did you purposely transform and were you in control the whole time?"

Naruto thought back, when he was watching Sasuke getting hurt. He realised that, deep down, he did want to transform. No, he _needed_ to transform to save him.

"Yes." He replied.

Kakashi smiled. "It's alright Naruto, you aren't in any trouble. Anyone who doesn't like it can go talk to the Hokage about it. And me for that matter."

"Thanks."

"You still won't be able to beat him." Said a small voice. They turned to see Inari had spoken. "You'll all just die, Gato will kill you."

Naruto glared at Inari. "Listen kid, do you really think a mortal like Gato could kill me? And I've already beaten one of his _highly classified_ ninja."

Kakashi sighed. Naruto's boastful nature was seeping through.

"He won't let anything stop him! He'll hire a hundred ninjas to beat you if he has to!" he cried out and ran upstairs.

"What's wrong with him?" Sakura asked.

Tazuna replied with sadness, "It's a long story. Ya see, Inari's father died a year ago, and Inari missed him terribly. One day, he jumped into the sea after a bully threw his dog in, but he couldn't swim. Then a man named Kaiza swam in and saved him. From then on, Inari thought of him as his father."

"He was considered a hero because of the many times he saved our village. But then Gato came. He found Kaiza a threat and crucified him with the village and Inari watching. Now he has lost all hope."

Tazuna and Tsunami both had their heads down in despair.

Sakura spoke first. "Don't worry Mr Tazuna, Mrs Tsunami, we'll set you free."

"Ofcourse will beat him, we're ninja!" shouts Naruto.

"Humph." Sasuke says.

"That's the spirit." Kakashi said with a closed eye smile.

**-----**

"All right team, today we're going to do a simple tree climbing exercise." Kakashi said.

"…Kakashi-sensei, you do realise I learnt to climb when I was five, right?" Naruto says. _Well, since I've been human of course._

"Yes Naruto, I think I am aware of it.' Kakashi says playing along. "But did you learn how to climb with feet only?"

Sasuke and Sakura looked surprised, while Naruto looked suspicious. Then he suddenly jumped. "Ohhh, I get it!!" And promptly walked to the tree, surrounded his feet with red chakra, lifted his foot parallel to the tree and stomped as hard as he could.

The chakra instantly drilled into the tree and once out on the other side made a sort of hook and held. He did it with his other foot and repeated until he was up to the first branch.

"See, easy as pie!" he shouted.

Kakashi sighed and shook his head. _Well that's what you get when you agree to train an powerful demon._ "Naruto, although that is very original, I was thinking of a method that won't kill the tree." He said as he pointed to the holes Naruto's chakra had created.

"… Oh." Naruto said and jumped down off the branch and landed beside Kakashi. "So how do we do it?" he asked.

"Well, you've got some of it right, we're going to use chakra. But unlike Naruto, we are going to surround our feet with chakra and use it like glue, sticking our feet to the tree trunk, like this"

Kakashi walked to the tree and made the ram sign, making light blue chakra surround his feet and, to the amazement of the genins, walked up the tree… without killing it.

"There," Kakashi said looking down on them upside down on a branch, "now try that."

"Easy!" Naruto exclaimed and walked to the tree, made chakra surround his feet and put his foot on the tree.

Unfortunately, Naruto's chakra was so powerful he immediately burst of the tree and creating a huge hole in the poor tortured tree in the process.

When the dust settled from his landing, Naruto, who was blown off his feet, looked at Kakashi and said, "Great. Now I definitely killed it!"

Kakashi jumped down and looked at Naruto on the ground. "Hmm, this could be a problem."

"I'll probably be able to put less chakra in, but that will take time."

"Then you can learn water-walking."

"What! But I hate water!"

"It's an important skill to learn, Naruto."

"Argh, fine."

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_**A/N:**_ So sorry it took so long. **This chapter has been updated after my 15th chapter. Much of the information in this chapter is very different from the original.**


	8. Introducing Swordsman No 2!

_**A/N: **_Alrighty, back to the present! Warning of an OC here, hope it's an ok dude, he is special cause he doesn't use water style jutsu. _**Chapter updated!**_

**

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Introducing Swordsmen No 2!**

On a certain bridge, many workers continued to build while Team 7 watched out for danger… well mostly. Naruto was bored. May it be a statement or fact? Who knows, but watching a bunch of guys hammering, hauling, eating or talking was not very fun.

"I'll be back." He said to Kakashi and started walking of into the forest.

"Hey, oi, where are you going?" Kakashi shouted after him.

Naruto just waved a hand without turning, "I'll be back soon."

Once the bushes shrouded him from sight, red chakra, not too big to be felt but big enough covered him and he morphed into a small red fox. _Ohhh, time to hunt!_ he thought merrily and bounded off.

A few moments later brought the sight of a small greyish hare running for its life, weaving expertly between the shrubs and plants. Hot on its trail was Naruto, not bothering to weave, instead charging right through everything.

He leapt, going in for the kill but was disrupted when a far off explosion echoed thorough his ears. He skidded to a halt, allowing the hare a second chance at life. _What now?_ he thought and ran towards the explosion aka bridge.

_Hmm, this mist. Crap. _thought Kakashi. "Ok, everyone! Have a break, go home!" he shouted towards the workers who were quite confused but happy at the break.

"Kakashi-sensei, why did you do that?" Sakura asked. She was very confused, the builders just hade a break 30 minutes ago and she didn't sense any danger.

Sasuke was also confused, but quickly realised how strange the mist was.

The mist suddenly got thicker, they couldn't see beyond 5 metres. A chilling laugh was heard. "Hello Kakashi, we didn't get to finish our fight." The familiar voice of Zabuza said. "And I've brought a friend, Ichugo Toya, another member of the seven swordsmen"

The mist parted and two beings could be seen. The first was Zabuza Momochi, still wearing bandages on his face and torso, and carrying the hell of a sword on his back. Beside him was a man with a white t-shirt and black pants. On the left side of his hip was a sword with a black handle. His face was set in a sneer.

"Zabuza," Ichugo said, "are you telling me that you couldn't beat a jonin and two little brats? You're joking, right?"

Zabuza growled. "The jonin is Kakashi Hatake, the copy-nin, had a rough time with him. But the real threat was the fox boy, no idea where he went. Did you see what happened to Haku, well that was the demon."

"Wish I could 'o fought him. Someone needs to put that thing in its place." He said. He cracked his neck, the popping sounds clear to the ear, and unsheathed his sword.

"This should be fun." He snickered and swiped his sword. Kakashi grabbed his team and Tazuna and leapt away just before something white and incredibly fast hit the ground that caused an explosion.

"You can just sit here and relax while I kill them, ok?" Ichugo said to Zabuza.

"Fine." he muttered. "Just hurry up, would you?"

"Not a problem." and promptly swiped at Kakashi who was running up to them, forcing him to jump out of the way.

_Great, where is Naruto?_ Kakashi thought as he tried to get an opening.

Meanwhile Naruto was also looking for an opening, but the man's wild swings were big and unpredictable. Luckily, the man was too dependent on his special sword, using the same swinging motion again and again, reminding him of the Sandaime's words about fighting… _"It is stupid to do the same thing over and over again and expect a different result…" Ha, seems like the old man is right._

After a particular swing taking his arm too far leaving his back exposed, Naruto leapt with chakra enhanced speed onto the man.

"What the…!"

Unfortunately, he only managed to rake his claws on his back before he jumped clear… right into Kakashi's reach. He swung with his kunai at Ichugo but he parried it with his sword. Naruto ran towards them, morphing back into his human form and together with Kakashi fought with Ichugo.

"Kuso…" he cursed seeing as he was clearly out-matched. He hastily moved back for space and stabbed his sword into the ground. He flashed through hand signs and picked it up again, which was glowing white.

"Two against one doesn't seem very fair, does it? Zabuza, looks like I'm gonna need you after all." He said.

"Thought you might. Do you want the demon?"

"Hell yeah!"

Naruto glared at the man. "It's those stupid cocky ones that die first in the ninja world."

A chuckle escaped his lips. "Fighting you will be a stroll in the park for me. You're just a little worm."

"Don't underestimate my power!" he yelled and started a battle of taijutsu.

Zabuza appeared in front of Kakashi. "You're my opponent!" and swung his sword. Kakashi leapt back.

"Ok, Zabuza, let's fight." He lifted his hitai-ate, Sharingan spinning rapidly. "I can see the future," Zabuza swings again and Kakashi blocks with a pair of kunai. "and your future, is _death_."

"Not today, Kakashi. **Hidden mist jutsu.**" The thick mist enveloped the surrounding area, causing Naruto's battle to pause.

"You're not that great." Ichugo remarked.

"Could say the same thing to you." Red chakra swirled restlessly around him pushing back most of the fog that had accumulated around them. His eyes turned blood red, his claws sharpened, his teeth elongated and his whisker marks grew more pronounced.

"Getting serious now eh, demon. Well good, because I'm gonna get serious too." The sword once again glowed white and he jabbed towards Naruto, yelling, "**White drill jutsu!**" The white chakra spun around the sword and sped towards Naruto.

Naruto's chakra formed a barrier in front of him, stopping the attack, though the jutsu was powerful enough to push him back before dispersing. The chakra surrounded Naruto, forming a cloak with three tails.

"My turn." The three tails rose above his head, the tips pointing at a space above him. A dark red speak appeared and grew, twisting and spinning in an unmatched ferocity. (**A/N:** Like when he was fighting Orochimaru and went four tails.) When it was the size of a basketball, he reached up with his right hand, holding the ball with his chakra hand for the power in the ball was too great for human skin.

"**Fox Soul!**" he yelled and charged towards Ichugo.

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**A/N:** I'm going to end it now, so what do ya think?? Comments and critism much appreciated, though the critism has to be reasonable. I would say Ja Ne but so many other people use it so I shouldn't. Bye, until next time. **This chapter has been modified slightly, but not too much since this is where the writing gets a little better.**


	9. A Fox Can Have His Fun

_**A/N:**_ Next chapter, this one will be a bit longer than the others but takes longer to make. By the way, Naruto has been practising with his fox cloak so now he could hold it for a full day, mainly because he changed into a fox earlier. I will be making up jutsus (not Japanese, sorry) for my story. Enjoy!

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**A Fox Can Have His Fun**

_**Previous Chapter…**_**"My turn." The three tails rose above his head, the tips pointing at a space above him. A dark red speak appeared and grew, twisting and spinning in an unmatched ferocity. When it was the size of a basketball, he reached up with his right hand, holding the ball with his chakra hand for the power in the ball was too great for human skin.**

"**Fox Soul!" he yelled and charged towards Ichugo.**

**--**

In a desperate attempt to stop the incoming WMD (Weapon of Mass Destruction), Ichugo swung his sword in a wide arc while skipping back. Not only did the white slash not have any effect on Naruto courtesy of the cloak, Ichugo felt more drained than a sponge in the African desert.

In a last ditch effort to stop the attack, he hid behind his truly pitiful sword and stood his ground. A second later he experienced hell.

The orb drilled into the sword as if it were snow and lodged itself into the swordsman's chest, where it promptly exploded, vaporising Ichugo's entire body and leaving no evidence of swordsman Ichugo Toya except for the two bits of metal lying a little ways off. (**A/N:** Maybe I enjoyed that a little too much. _-Laugh manically-_) Maybe Naruto enjoyed that a little too much… nah, he deserved it.

The cloak flowed into small wisps. Even though Ichugo was very dead, the chakra felt soothing to his muscles, plus the chakra would burn any human that tried to attack him. Naruto turned his attention towards Kakashi's fight. Any remaining mist dispersed as soon as his attack struck.

--

Kakashi had brought the fight off the bridge and onto the water, his Sharingan spinning wildly. Zabuza started a hand sign and he immediately copied his movements. **"Water style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" **They both yelled at the same time and two dragons of water rose up behind their summoner and head-butted each other, causing a rain of water as the attacks cancelled out each other.

'_That's impossible!' _ Zabuza thought. _'It's as if he knows what I'm doing before I_

_even do it.'_ Another set of hand signs.** "Water Style: Great Tsunami!" **They both

shouted and a wave of chakra filled water rose up in front of the respected caller and smashed into each other, once again cancelling each other out.

Zabuza looked in horror as an image of himself floated behind Kakashi when he started another jutsu. The second of hesitation was enough for Kakashi to finish the jutsu before him. **"Water Style: Spiralling Pillar!" **The water Zabuza stood on shot upwards, spinning him around and around until eventually Kakashi couldn't hold it anymore and the water fell back down.

'_Crap, out of chakra, going to blackout…' _but before he dropped an unfamiliar chakra coursed into his body from his shoulders. The chakra filled up his reserves and gave him a sharp alertness feeling. He opened his eyes to see Naruto holding him with a concerned look in his crystal blue eyes.

"Kakashi-sensei, are you alright?" he asked, still allowing his chakra to seep into him.

"Yeah, I'm ok now." And gave a reassuring smile. Naruto smiled back and slowly released Kakashi onto the water.

"I'll go get Zabuza over there." Naruto said, indicating with his head to where Zabuza's limp body floated. Kakashi nodded and jumped up onto the bridge, soon followed by Naruto carrying Zabuza on his shoulder. If he didn't know Naruto was an all powerful demon he wouldn't have believed a 12 year old boy could lift such a big lump of body and sword.

"Kakashi-sensei! Naruto! You're alive!" Sakura squealed and ran over to them, followed by Tazuna and Sasuke at a walk. _'My ears.' _thought everyone drily. Naruto looked over at Sasuke. _'Ohhh, looks like the great and mighty Uchiha just got showed up by the great and mighty fox demon and sensei.' _

Sasuke was pissed. _'Damn it, I could have fought the swordsman just as easily as Naruto did.' _Even though he had vouched for Naruto when Tazuna was scared of him, now he felt extremely jealous of him. _'He has so much power, power _I _deserves.' _**(A/N: **I'm sorry for the Sasuke fans out there, from now on Sasuke will start to hate Naruto more and more so when he gets the curse mark he will go AWOL**)**

"Kakashi-sensei, what should I do with Zabuza?" Naruto asked, dropping him unceremoniously onto the bridge's surface. He was about to answer when a chuckle cut him off. The group turned their attention to a very short and fat man in a business suit and sunglasses surrounded by 20 or so bandits.

"Looks like you did all the work for me by killing Zabuza. Now then, why don't you give me the bridge builder and I won't have to kill you." In an effort to intimidate, the bandits drew their swords noisily. **(A/N:** Gato didn't send anyone to Tsunami cause he thought he could just kill Tazuna.**)**

His could of worked had not a snicker turned full blown laughter reach their ears. They looked to see Naruto rolling on the floor, fits of laughter shaking his body and tears flowing from his eyes. His laughter slowly died down when he noticed all the bandits and Gato staring at him. He stood up and blushed.

"Sorry 'bout that, but that has got to be the funniest thing I have ever heard, especially coming from a short, fat, ugly , rotten cabbage surrounded by 20 sausages." At that image, he went into another fit of hysterical laughter, joined by his team and Tazuna.

Gato shook in rage as all the blood filled his small head creating the image of a ripe tomato, that looked like it fell off the a 10 story building when it turned a deep purple.

"Kill them! Kill them all!!!" he spluttered. After a moment's hesitation, they charged.

Naruto turned to his team. "I'll handle this." With a wicked gleam in his eye. _'Ohhh, I'm gonna enjoy this…'_ Naruto brought his right hand and pointed it palm facing the incoming warriors. His earlier transformation into the fox allowed Naruto access to more of his demon side's power.

The red chakra swirled around his hand, than shot out of his palm where it shaped itself into a fox, looming menacingly over the bandits. The terrified bandits looked up in horror as the fox barred its teeth and roared. Naruto smiled as the mortals ran as fast as their legs could take them back into the surrounding forest.

"No, wait, come back! I paid good money for you to protect me!" Gato shouted on deaf ears. When he realised that his employers only cared for themselves, he attempted to follow them.

"Going somewhere?" He never stood a chance.

If done the right way, it is said that having your head cut off properly is quick, easy and most of all, painless. Of course, this has never been proven since the participants could never voice their opinion.

Gato's limp body hit the floor, his head rolling off to the side. Naruto cleaned his kunai with Gato's shirt and put it back into his pouch.

"Such a stupid cabbage."

--

A week later the bridge was finally finished. Though the economy wasn't great, it was slowly getting better and within a few months the community should be thriving.

Their C-Ranked mission turned A-Ranked because of the two swordsman was a success, so they started back their journey home.

"What should we name the bridge?" a villager said when team 7 were a little ways off.

"How 'bout The Great Tazuna Bridge, eh?" Tazuna shouted.

"Call it The Great Naruto Bridge." Inari shouted. The demon, though Inari thought he was more human than demon, had become good friends in the week they stayed together.

"All right. It's official. I hereby declare this bridge named **The Great Naruto Bridge!**" Tazuna exclaimed and was met with cheers.

A little ways off, Naruto smiled.

* * *

_**A/N:**_ Sorry, I decided to end it here but there should be more words and less spaces. This chapter was very fun to write and I enjoyed it a lot, better than the other chapters.

Since this is only my second story, I'm not so experienced and have missed out important info. Naruto is **not** wearing orange, he is wearing something you can imagine yourself but I picture him wearing either black, white or red, black ninja sandals and his hitai-ate (Konoha headband) on his right shoulder/arm. The others are the same as the anime. Any other questions, please ask. Comments and critism welcome.


	10. Leader of a Village

_**A/N:**_ Just to let you know, I have completely forgotten to put Japanese words instead of English since Japanese isn't my language. I'm adding a few swear words in this chap because I'm in a bad mood. Also go check out my new short story where Naruto meets the ghost of Minato, and don't forget to review it!

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**Leader of a Village**

_**Previous Chapter…**_** "Call it The Great Naruto Bridge." Inari shouted. The demon, though Inari thought he was more human than demon, had become good friends in the week they stayed together.**

"**All right. It's official. I hereby declare this bridge named The Great Naruto Bridge!" Tazuna exclaimed and was met with cheers.**

**A little ways off, Naruto smiled.**

It was full-out pouring by the time the team got to Konoha's gates. It was nearly dark and all four were soaking and neither in a happy mood, especially Naruto. Did I mention he had a certain dislike for water? Well he has an even more dislike for rain. Not only did the damn rain dampen his fiery spirit, chill him to the bone and wet his hair making it flatten over his eyes, the sound of millions of droplets cascading down and plit plating onto the soggy ground was almost too much for his ears to take.

"Fuck this rain." He muttered under his breath. He was never happier to see Konoha again. With a whoop of joy, he ran towards the gates, not even pausing to give his name to the poor guards, and charged off towards his apartment.

He landed on the doorstep of the apartment. The Sandaime had persuaded the owners to let him have the room while he paid for it. Luckily the apartment wasn't too bad, he was a little short on hot water but apart from that it was a decent home.

He rubbed his hands in an effort to warm them up, failing though, and reached for his keys. His numbly felt into his weapons pouch and fished out the key. Smiling, he shoved it into the lock, only to miss and drop it onto the floor. Cursing, he tried picking them up but accidently dropped it into the gap between two planks. He stared at the key, focusing every swear word known to man and demon at the stupid key lying there as if taunting him.

After realising the key wouldn't die, he dramatically sighed and pushed out his chakra to fetch the key. Still holding the key with chakra, he expertly put it in the hole and turned. Instantly happy again, he dropped the key onto the coffee table and flipped onto the couch, relaxing into the soft Dacron-filled comfort. He thanked himself for practising chakra control for the past years. He relaxed his mind and focused on the rain humming on the roof.

He opened his eyes to the sound of some annoying bird just outside his window. _Did I fall asleep?_ He looked out the window to see clear blue skies and a crisp atmosphere. _Looks like rain has its good side._ He looked at his wall clock. 6:30. Half an hour before he had to go meet with his team, 2 more hours for Kakashi to arrive and 5 minutes to go get another lame D-Ranked mission. Without even looking, he covered himself with chakra and heated himself up. His damp clothes quickly drying in the heat.

He stretched, ate some ramen and changed into his common form of a fox. Using his chakra to unlock the door, he jumped out and started leaping on the roofs of various buildings. Even though foxes couldn't laugh, happiness was evident from the way his mouth was open and his pink tongue dangled out the side dripping saliva.

He finally arrived at the bridge. His brain made the calculations. He left at 6:40 and ran for 8 minutes, so there was still 12 minutes till Sasuke and Sakura to arrive. Plenty of time for a nice quick nap. Finding a comfortable spot on the tree's branch, he happily dozed off.

At the sound of footsteps approaching, Naruto opened an eye to see who came. Sasuke was walking towards the bridge with his hand in his pockets. Following like a lost puppy was Sakura, talking animatingly to the obviously annoyed boy. Naruto decided it was probably a good idea to show up now.

He morphed back into human form and jumped down from the tree, walking towards his teammates. He also noticed that Sasuke glared at him with a little killer intent. Sakura was still as clueless as ever. _Great, Sasuke still hates me for having more power. Stupid mortal. _So he decided to tell him.

"Sasuke, you're and idiot. You can be as jealous as you want but you will never be more powerful than me." At those words Sasuke's face turned into a sneer. Obviously his teammates weren't scared of him anymore.

"Just you watch. I will get more power than you, what ever it takes. I will kill my brother with the power I have."

Naruto growled. "Stupid ningen. It's that type of sick ambition that will cause you to hurt your friends. Let go of the past, Sasuke, you will live a much happier life."

"What do you know? Huh? I lost all my family because of one person, and I _will_ kill him!"

"Careful, Sasuke, don't get blinded by revenge. You might just regret it."

"Hmph." Sasuke ignored Naruto from then. That was the scene Kakashi was met with. Naruto staring at the ground, annoyance clear on his face. Sasuke leaning on the bridge with his arms crossed and staring of into the water, also annoyed, and Sakura glaring at Naruto for angering Sasuke. Really, Kakashi had finished talking to Obito a while ago and had seen the whole thing. _Sasuke is a fool. He should know better than to think he is smarter than a fox. When the time comes, I hope he will make the right choice._

"Alright, team. Time for some missions." He said and led them to the Hokage's tower.

--

"Alright, Team 7. There is the D-ranked mission, capture Tora the cat, clean out the trash in the river, and-"

"Aww, come on, old man, give us a real mission. We did pretty well on the last A-Ranked mission." Naruto pouted. The Sandaime sighed. _I'm getting to old for this shit. _"Naruto, there is a reason for these missions."

"Oh yeah? What are they?" He challenged.

"Shinobi must learn to work as a team. And doing these jobs is a great way to bond with each other, since you will be a team for quite a while."

"Nuh uh. Doing missions where we camp in the open and watch each other's backs is the way to bond."

Kakashi whacked the back of his students head. "Naruto, stop talking back to the Hokage. We got lucky the mission to Wave happened to be an A-Ranked."

"Yeah but we did so well on the mission. A few problems here and there but nothing we couldn't deal with."

"We can't-"

"Relax, Kakashi. I'll give you a B-Ranked."

"Yay, victory! I hope you checked to see if the client was lying. Oh wait, I want them to lie, it would be more entertaining." He said in a sing song voice.

"No Naruto, this is just a simple mission. Your mission is to escort Shibuki, leader of the Waterfall village, back there safe and sound." (**A/N:** If you have seen the short film of that, it might be a bit different from the real one.)

Naruto's eyes turned suspicious. "That sounds awfully a lot like our Wave mission."

"Don't worry. The client would have paid more if it was too dangerous. Ok, you will meet him in an hour at the gates. Good luck."

Kakashi turned to his team. "Alright team, go home and pack for about 3 days trip. Waterfall isn't far from here, it shouldn't take too long."

"Hai." They replied and set off.

--

The three genin arrived at the same time to see a man with blue clothes and armour plates on his shoulders. Apart from the armour, the young man didn't look much like a ninja, let alone a leader of a village. In fact, he should be too young. The man turned his head to them only when they were close to him, signs of an inexperienced ninja.

"Hello," he said, "are you the team whose going to escort me?"

"Yup, team 7 at your service." Naruto replied cheerfully.

Shibuki frowned at them. "Aren't you a little young for this mission?"

"Aren't you a little young to be a leader?" he replied drily.

"I am, in fact, the strongest ninja in my village."

"Well your village must suck since you don't look like much."

"That's funny, coming from a lowly genin."

"Well what rank are you classified as?"

"For your information I'm a high chunin."

"Wow, a pleasure to be in your presence Mr High-chunin-level leader of Waterfall village. I must hail before your awesome power." Naruto said and promptly raised his arms and hailed him in mock awe while chanting 'Hail' over and over again.

"Why you little brat! I could beat you even if I had 10 kunai stuck in my body."

"Ha. That's funny. I'd like to see you try."

"A genin isn't much of problem to me."

"Why don't you say that after you actually beat me? Mortal."

"That's enough." Kakashi said, appearing out of thin air before Shibuki could reply. But that didn't stop him from registering what Naruto said.

"Mortal? What's that supposed to mean?"

Kakashi cut him off before he could reply. "Let's go now, we are wasting precious travelling time. Move!" They set off at his command, albeit at a slow run.

--

"Mr Shibuki, what the Waterfall village like?" Sakura asked, always the curious one.

"Well, the Waterfall village is magnificent. Everyone is happy, our ninja are strong, and we also have a secret weapon. Very soon, I feel we will become the largest village in all the Shinobi lands." He said in a proud voice, his eyes sparkling with the hope of his dreams coming true.

_Psh, I've seen the Waterfall village, and if it hasn't changed much from 14 years ago than the village still looks a hell of a lot worse than Konoha. _Naruto thought.

"Right, I'm sure it will be big pretty soon. How big is it compared to Konoha, eh?" Naruto asked innocently.

Shibuki opened his mouth to reply, paused, frowned, put his finger on his chin, pointed at Naruto and opened his mouth, frowned again, then eventually settled for crossing his arms arrogantly and facing the other ways, much like Sasuke. Naruto snickered.

"Well how would you know? You've never been there otherwise I would have known you were there."

"It's a matter of where you look and what you look for, Shibuki dear."

He smirked at the confused face. They continued there trip reasonably silently and made camp in the surrounding bush at night. Naruto had brought cups of ramen from his house, so was currently gouging himself with the heavenly food while the others had sandwiches. After his 5th cup he was finally satisfied. (He keeps all the cups in a sealing scroll Kyuubi gave him.)

"I'll be on watch first, than Sasuke, Sakura and last will be Naruto. Each watch will be 2 hours long. Now go get some sleep."

--

Five minutes into his shift and he was already bored to death. The only things that perked his interest were the few hedgehogs that had crossed his path. Naruto had changed into the form of a fox because the fox form's hearing was 5 times better than normally. Plus the other senses heightened 5 times as well. Currently Naruto was lying on a patch of grass next to an oak tree. The gentle wind caressed the leaves and the stars blinked in the never-ending space. The crescent shone like a beacon in the sky.

It was times like these Naruto truly felt one with nature. It was times like these he could forget about being human. _What would make this truly perfect is if_ _Father was here. I wish so much he was here. _Considering Kitsune live forever, Naruto was definitely considered a very young kit. Naruto sniffed the clean air and rest his head on his paws.

--

**Somewhere in a cave…**

"Ugh, would he hurry up?"

"Patience, Kisame, he will come in due time." As soon as he said that, an image materialised in front of the pair. The image was a man with a black coat with red clouds on it, like the Tsukuyomi world and the same on the pair. The man had three dots (if they are piercings, sorry.) on both sides of his nose and two upside down triangles on his chin. His ears were covered with so many ear piercings you could hardly recognise skin. A headband with the Rain symbol and a scratch in the middle was on his forehead pushing back red spiky hair.

"We have found the target." The man said.

The pair smiled. "Who is it?"

The man turned to Itachi, the second person in the cave. "The boy is called Uzumaki Naruto, a genin of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, age 12."

"What is so important about this boy, Pein?" Itachi asked.

Pein smiled. "He is the Kyuubi's son."

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_**A/N:**_ Yay, I've finally made is longer! Alright so the Akatsuki are pretty much the same except they aren't going for the jinchuuriki they are going for people of strength or value. They want Naruto to be their slave and do their bidding to rule the world!

**Tsukuyomi: **The genjutsu the Mangekyou Sharingan will put you in for 72 hours and torture you. The sky in the genjutsu is black with red clouds.

Comments and critism welcome. Ask any questions by clicking the review button below


	11. Enemy in the Village

_**A/N: **_Okay dokay, next chapter up! If Naruto seems a little more serious I'm so sorry but that is how he will be from now on, it started because he's been in the company of Sasuke, which has dampened his happiness. Oh, and he will gradually get stronger. Hope you like it!!

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**Enemy in the Village**

_**Previous Chapter… **_**It was times like these Naruto truly felt one with nature. It was times like these he could forget about being human. **_**What would make this truly perfect is if **__**Father was here. I wish so much he was here. **_**Considering Kitsune live forever, Naruto was definitely considered a very young kit. Naruto sniffed the clean air and rest his head on his paws.**

"**What is so important about this boy, Pein?" Itachi asked.**

**Pein smiled. "He is the Kyuubi's son."**

His ear twitched at the sound of someone rustling in the tents. His brain identified it. _Just someone moving in their tent. No danger. _His ear twitched again at the sound of a tent flap unzipping, but he was in the trance where he was definitely aware of his surroundings but wouldn't react to anything unless necessary. _Just someone getting out of their tent. No danger. _Then-

"AHH, OH MY GOD!!!!"

The horrendous screeching reached his sensitive ears, filling them with pain. Naruto jumped, yelping with pain and surprise and flew towards the human responsible. He clamped his jaws onto the person's neck, making them both fall onto the ground. He could feel the vibrations in his tongue from the victim's strangled cry. Just as he was about to end the human's life, a whistling sound instinctively made him leap back, narrowly missing the swipe of a kunai.

Naruto landed on his feet, getting ready to launch again when he saw the human's faces. It was his companions.

Shibuki had been sleeping soundly when a sudden screech woke him up. He scrambled out, having slept with his ninja gear on into the open. He was very surprised to see Sakura on the ground getting back up shakily, Kakashi standing in front of her holding a kunai, Sasuke standing in front of his tent looking surprised, and a red fox with black feet and black tipped tail facing them. The fox snarled.

"What the," he spluttered, "What stupid person sent a dumb animal to kill me?"

The fox's head instantly whipped towards him, throwing killer intent so thick he couldn't breathe. Eyes never left his sweating face, even when the fox was suddenly covered in a thick cloak of red chakra making them unable to see the fox anymore. The chakra grew taller and thinner, soon disappearing altogether to reveal a very angry Naruto still glaring at him. Naruto had sharp claws on his hands, his whisker marks thicker and his blue eyes had slit pupils. Then he turned his attention to Sakura.

"What the hell, Sakura?! If Kakashi-sensei didn't attack me I would have snapped your neck! What is wrong with you?" He shouted, throwing his arms in the air.

"I didn't mean to, it just came out." She replied rather pathetically.

Naruto rubbed his head and sighed. "Ok, but never, _ever _do that again cause Kakashi-sensei might not be there to save you, got it?" She nodded her head furiously. Shibuki finally found his voice.

"Hey, since when could you turn into an animal?"

Naruto turned his head towards Shibuki again. _Well this is a problem. _He glanced at Kakashi, who gave him a meaningful look. He looked at Shibuki and replied, "I have a bloodline limit, where I can transform into an animal." He lied. Shibuki thought for a moment.

"Oh, ok. Can you turn into anything else?" _Stupid mortal._

"No, just the fox." _Gullible dumbass. _He mentally rubbed his fingers to his temples and sighed at how shallow mortals could be sometimes.

"Wow." While Shibuki tried to comprehend that the genin he thought was useless could transform into an animal, the rest of the company, try as they might, were holding in there amused smiles. Well except for Kakashi, who was smiling but no one would notice.

"Ok, team, pack up the tents and be ready to go in 10 minutes." Kakashi ordered.

A while later the group were ready to go, so off they went. According to Kakashi, they were about halfway to Waterfall village. The rest of the trip ran reasonably smoothly, though a few times, when something rustled a bush, Shibuki would hide behind Kakashi like a frightened bunny and stutter out "Protect me!" Naruto found it amusing and annoying at the same time, Sakura was looking at Shibuki wondering if he was fit to be a leader, Sasuke was thinking how worthless he was and Kakashi… well, he was a bit annoyed that he would always hide behind him.

Eventually, though Naruto was first, they heard the loud sound of a waterfall. Then when they emerged from the foliage, they lay their eyes on a giant waterfall, with white water rushing down and spraying everywhere as it met the clear pool below.

"Shibuki!" The group weren't really surprised since they already sensed non-threatening people come near. Two small children, one boy and one girl, ran out from behind some trees. They were carrying sacks.

"Shibuki, you're back!" the boy yelled.

"Kentaro, Hikara, what are you doing outside the village?" Shibuki asked.

"We're here to get the rubbish from the river. But the river is so fast, it's a bit dangerous. Won't you help us?" Kentaro pleaded.

"Uh, sorry I can't, I can't do it right now, yeah, so sorry."

"Please? I'm scared of the water." Hikara said.

He looked around nervously, than spotted the ninja and smiled. _Oh he better not-_

"These are ninja from the Hidden Leaf village. I hired them to protect me. They'll do it." Said ninja's eyes narrowed in hate.

"Excuse me? We ain't gonna do some chore, our mission clearly stated to escort and protect you until we reach the Waterfall village. We are here, mission accomplished." Naruto said.

"Aww, please. I'll give you money for it."

"N-"

"Quiet, Naruto. Well do it."

"What? You mean we do it while you read your perverted book."

He replied with a shrug. "For the money, Naruto. Konoha needs it."

"Needs it my ass, Konoha can do fine without 50 Ryo."

--

"I hate you."

"I love you too, Naruto."

Naruto mumbled under his breath as he continued to pick up a can from the river and put it in the sack the girl held out. Sasuke was also picking up rubbish with the boy, and Sakura was carrying a bag to the large boulder where Kakashi sat with his orange book and Shibuki looking at them with mock sympathy.

Lucky for Naruto, he was able to bear being in water. Since Naruto had started training to walk on water, he realised he would have to get wet sooner than later, so now water was bearable, but still he would avoid it unless absolutely necessary. Apparently picking up garbage was _absolutely necessary_.

A screech from above brought the attention of the group. A large golden eagle floated down and landed gracefully onto Kakashi's outstretched arm. While Kakashi took of the message strapped to the birds leg, the other three in the team were looking at the pathetically shaking Shibuki crouched on the ground and the two kids asking if he was alright.

Once he realised there wasn't any danger, he picked himself up.

"Ah, right. It's just a bird."

Kakashi unravelled the note, reading it while setting the bird free.

"Sorry, but there is an urgent meeting for jonins I must go to. Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke can stay here and finish, ok?"

"What? How dare you leave us here?"

"Come back to the Konoha when you're done, hmm." And quickly leapt off into the forest out of sight.

"Stupid damn sensei leaving us here to pick up the damn rubbish…" mumbled Naruto.

A little while later the team finally finished picking up the rubbish. Either the people in the village hadn't cleaned the river in years or their favoured rubbish dump. _I swear every single piece of trash the villagers got their hands on, the first chance they got, here's a handy river beside our village, why not use it as a dump cause we don't give a damn what it could cause in the economy. Seriously._ Naruto thought viciously.

Shibuki turned to them. "Thank you so much for your help. Here's the money, no go away!" the last sentence was more of a command. The three genin felt their eyebrows raise in confusion and suspicion.

"Hey, we did your chore. Why are you so abrupt?" questioned Sakura. _**How dare he talk to us like that? Cha!**_

"It's cause he doesn't want us to see the way into the village." Naruto said. He turned to Shibuki. "Aren't our villages allied? Why are you being so secretive?"

"You can never trust anyone, why should I trust you with such important information?"

"Let me think about it, cause our villages are allied, cause why the hell would we want to invade such a lowly village, and cause I already know the way into the village."

"You-"

A gasp sounded behind them, then, "Mother!" Hikara cried.

The group turned to see a reasonably old woman stagger towards them.

"They came, out of, nowhere. It was over, so fast. Help us, Shibuki." After that she collapsed into an undignified heap.

The group ran over to the woman. Sakura checked over the kunai wound in her back. "She's gonna be ok, just a little rest."

"Mother!" Hikara cried again.

"Don't cry, Hikara. You heard her, she's gonna be alright." Kentaro said comfortingly. Naruto turned to Shibuki.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Show us the way into the village so we can beat whoever did this." Naruto shouted.

"Hey, I'm not gonna show you. And didn't you say you already knew the way?"

He paused. "Oh yeah!" he shouted and started running onto the water towards the waterfall. Suddenly 5 ninjas with a scratch in their headbands signally missing nin came out of the waterfall and charged him. Naruto, having already knew they were there since stepping onto the water jumped and threw shurikans at them. They all dodged, except they all dodged into the waiting fist of Naruto's Kage Bushin. They were all knocked into the air where Sasuke cooked all except one into corpses. The one that escaped jumped back into the waterfall.

"Now that that's taken care of, let's go. Sakura, you stay here and protect the lady and the kids." Naruto said and beckoned Shibuki and Sasuke to get over there.

"How do you know the way into the village?" Shibuki asked.

"Nuh uh, that's a secret I can't tell." He replied and jumped into the raging torrent of water, to his utmost disgust, followed by his companions.

The three emerged into a large cave. They hid behind a rock, checking to make sure there was no enemy in the cave with them.

"Careful, Sasuke, don't die on this mission."

"I was about to say the same thing to you, dobe."

"Me? Die? That's funny, teme."

He stayed silent. Once they were certain there was no danger, Shibuki confidently walked up to a random opening of water and dived in. Sasuke followed, then, with a look of disdain, Naruto dived in after them.

The three emerged to find them selves facing the buildings of the village. Naruto turned to Shibuki.

"Dude, this village is as crappy as 14 years ago. Do you really think this load of nothing will conquer our village?"

He was about to reply angrily, but suddenly processed what he said.

"14? Aren't you, like, 12 years old or something?"

"Or something." He replied with a wink.

Naruto and Sasuke got out of the water. They realised something with a frown. There was no sound. Absolutely nothing could be heard. There wasn't a single villager in sight. _Weird…_ Unbeknownst to the pair, Shibuki, seeing something wrong, quietly slunk of into the water towards a very large tree.

Sasuke pushed Naruto back into the water. He gave a yelp of surprise before sinking into the water. He came back up to yell at him but sensed ninja coming. Instead he hissed, "You could have warned me."

"Just go find Shibuki, ok?" he said as he dodged a strike from an aerial attack.

"Fine." He said and swam off into the water where he followed Sibuki's chakra trail. He followed it to the roots of the giant tree, where he found an opening through the roots. Without a sound, he followed the trail and saw Shibuki retrieve a small gourd, half-filled with blue liquid, from a small shed.

--

"There, all done. She will be fine now." Sakura said as she finished wrapping a bandage on the woman's wound. Hikara began to cry.

"Don't worry, Sakura will protect us." Kentaro said to her.

"I wouldn't be so sure." A foreign male voice said behind Sakura. She realised too late when he gave a swift chop to he neck, effectively knocking her unconscious.

"Reactions a little slow. Are you sure she's a ninja?"

"What did you do to her?" Kentaro cried.

"Hehe, don't worry, she ain't dead, yet. We still need her as leverage. As well as you." At that he started towards the cowering children.

--

Sasuke had just dodged the strike of a leg and flashed through a set of seals.

"**Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!**" The large ball of fire caught the 5 ninjas who attacked him. Sasuke stood, smirking, until some sort of blue rope caught him.

"Ohhh, he's good. Should we kill him?" A young woman on one side of the rope said.

"No, well need al the leverage we can get." A man standing a little ways off said.

_They're good, I didn't even sense them. I've got to-_

His train of thought halted as electricity tore into his body from the rope. He gave a strangled cry before dropping to the ground unconscious.

The man laughed. "Hmm, soon Shibuki, You are gonna have to come out sooner or later."

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_**A/N:**_ I would like to know if you would like me to rewrite the first few chapters I did poorly on. Please don't think I'd be offended if you do, because frankly I think they sucked myself but since I'm kinda new here I don't really know if I should change it. So give me a review, ok? I've also deleted my first story for Clamp cause that really sucked, it was kinda a practice and I'm defiantly not gonna finish it.

Comments and critism welcome. Ask any questions by clicking the review button below.


	12. Battle at the Waterfall

_**A/N:**_ **I realise I have made a few mistakes in my story like when I said on the first chapter that Naruto could beat most chunin cause that is not correct. Now that he is more powerful from his full transformation he can pretty much beat most of the genin.**

**I would also like to say that the names I make up are just that, purely made up. I don't know Japanese and if the names I do make up mean anything or anything bad please tell me.**

**Review and keep voting for the chapter's thing!**

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**Battle at the Waterfall**

The thick wire bit into his skin, making his futile struggles painful.

"There's no use doing that. The ninja wire tying you up is specially hardened with chakra. And don't even try an escape jutsu, unless you want to fight without hands." One of the ninjas that captured him said smugly. Sasuke gave an annoyed sigh at his uselessness. Here were the villagers, tied up in groups of three on the ground with missing-nin watching over them, and he couldn't do a thing because of some ninja wire tying his hands and hanging him in the air.

He looked up at the sound of screaming. Sakura and the two kids had been caught and they were trapped in a net hanging a metre of the ground. Sakura was shouting curses at the ninja.

"Let us out of here! Oh, when I escape you will so pay for it.

_Damn it. Now both of us have been captured. _He hated to admit it, but he hoped badly that Naruto would come soon and rescue them.

A ninja appeared via shunshin and walked over to the man who seemed to be the leader sitting on a veranda. "There's no sign of him anywhere, Sao."

Sao just smirked and stood up. One of the villagers glared at him.

"How could you do this, Sao? You were our most honoured ninja. What are you doing this for, the village?"

"Please, why would I want this pathetic village? That was the main reason I left. As to why I'm here? I here for the Hero's Water."

A gasp resounded over the villagers. Another villager shouted, Shibuki would never give you the water! He would tip it onto the ground before he gives it to a scum-bag like you."

At those words, Sao gave an amused chuckle. "Ah yes, but you see, you don't know dear Shibuki like I do. He wouldn't throw away the only thing that can save the village from an attack."

Sao looked around a moment before shouting, "Shibuki! I know you can hear me! Give me the Hero's Water now or I will start killing the villagers one by one, starting with the children." He nodded to a fat ninja from Iwa (Rock) who grabbed a girl that had been tied up alone.

"No, start with me instead!" One of the villagers shouted.

"Tempting, but a child is much better leverage to someone who cares so much about children." Then he shouted. "Ok, Shibuki, you brought this on your self! On 3 he will kill the girl. 1, 2, 3!"

The fat ninja smiled at the sobbing girl and brought up his kunai. The girl screamed, "Help me!" The ninja grinned again. "Your leader isn't here to save anymore, kid." And thrust down.

The villagers looked in horror.

Suddenly, the kunai came to an abrupt stop an inch away from the girl's neck. Everyone stared at the thick rope of unnaturally red chakra wrapped around his wrist and leading off somewhere into the tree. The chakra reared up as though alive and before anyone could react, stabbed right through the ninja's own neck. The fat ninja gave a shocked and painful cry and fell flat onto his back dead.

--

**Before…**

Shibuki looked from the hollow opening of the tree that overlooked the scene. His eyes widened at the sight of Sao. "Sensei?"

"Who's that?"

Shibuki jumped into the air in fright and spun around, expecting an attacker. Instead he saw Naruto standing upside down on the roof of the tree cave.

"Don't do that!" he whispered harshly.

Naruto looked concerned at Shibuki closely. "You are really gonna have to work on you courage if you wanna be a good ninja, human."

He glared at him before returning to look at the scene. "That is Sao. He used to be my sensei. He taught me everything I know. But one day he got sick of our village and became left it in the night."

Naruto dropped and flipped onto the ground and joined Shibuki in watching Sao. He noticed the spiky brown hair, the large sideburns and the Waterfall village headband with a line in it. Then he realised what was hanging behind him.

"Damn, they got Sasuke." Then he spotted Sakura in the net. "And they got Sakura too." He turned to Shibuki.

"What does he want?" Naruto asked.

"He's here for the Hero's Water." He said, holding the gourd of blue liquid. "One mouthful of this can increase your chakra ten-fold. This is our secret weapon. But this is also a death sentence. Anyone who drinks this will die from extreme chakra depletion. That's how my father died, he was meant to be leader for longer so I could hone my skills and take over when I'm ready."

"Well, you've got to do something, the villagers are probably leverage to make you bring it to him. You have to fight him!"

"But, he was my sensei! He is much more powerful than me."

"Gah! You will fight him, I'll make sure of it. But I gotta free my teammates first."

Red chakra surrounded his right hand. Speedily, it wormed down the tree towards the villagers.

"Whoa, how do you do that!?" Shibuki exclaimed.

"Part of, Bloodline limit." He gritted through his teeth. It required a lot of concentration to do this. A bead of sweat rolled down his cheek, tempting him to wipe it off. But even the smallest loss of concentration could release the chakra into the air. The rope was already at the villagers, but no one noticed it. Just as he tried to move the chakra to Sasuke, Sao spoke.

"Shibuki! I know you can hear me! Give me the Hero's Water now or I will start killing the villagers one by one, starting with the children."

They watched in horror as the fat ninja picked up the little girl beside him. After a while, he spoke loudly again.

"Ok, Shibuki, you brought this on your self! On 3 he will kill the girl. 3," as he counted, Naruto expertly directed his chakra to the ninja.

"2,"

_Come on, come on!_

"1"

The ninja stabbed down with his kunai, but was instantly stopped by Naruto's chakra.

"Die!" Naruto hissed and flicked his chakra towards the man's neck. Naruto's eyes flashed red. He was dead within seconds.

--

Sao stared at the red rope that seemed to be made out of chakra. But chakra wasn't physical, what he saw was impossible, wasn't it? But he did see it, right before his eyes, a strange unnatural yet definitely chakra had stabbed his minion in the throat.

The red chakra disappeared into the air leaving no trace it had been there, except for the dead ninja. Suddenly the ninjas looked up as they sensed something coming from the tree. They stared as a fox as big as a dinner table leap from a hole in the tree and land onto the ground in front of them with no more than a quiet thud. Clutched in the fox's strangely prehensile tail was a frightened Shibuki.

Naruto set Shibuki down while taking the Hero's Water into his tail. He nudged him forward towards the shocked Shinobi, obviously wanting him to fight them. Shibuki shook in fear. Naruto rolled his eyes. _Holy shit, this village ain't gonna last long with him as their leader. _He growled. _Fine, I'll kill the five Missing Nin and he can deal with Sao._

Holding the gourd protectively in his tail, Naruto leapt into action. The first ninja never stood a chance. When everyone blinked, the poor ninja's throat had been ripped out and Naruto's teeth dripped with blood. A second foolish ninja ran at him, hoping to kill him with his short sword. With frightening ease, Naruto ducked under the thrust and swiped at the man's stomach. He went flying into a tree, either knocked unconscious or dead. After all, he didn't want to terrify the kids and give them nightmares at too much blood. _Two down, three to go._

One look at the remaining ninja he instantly knew they weren't going to be a problem. They were most probably only lower chunin, trying to make themselves into the Bingo Book. In a matter of moments, the three ninjas were lying on the floor unconscious.

He walked up to Shibuki, lifted him with his long tail and literally threw him at Sao, all while still holding the gourd.

Luckily, he managed, to right himself and aimed a kick at Sao's head. He blocked with his forearms and both leapt back.

"Hello, Shibuki, long time no see. Let's see if the student has surpassed the sensei in kenjutsu, ne?"

He glared at him, but the killer intent wasn't thick since he was shaking in fear. After all, a sensei won't normally teach their students all their tricks. The pair both flashed through the same hand seals, shouting, **"Ice Sword!"** Ice started to form on their outstretched palm, soon growing into a white sword that was specially modified and mostly unbreakable.

"I will have the Hero's Water!" Sao shouted and charged. Their battle started.

Everyone watched as the two swordsmen danced around each other, dodging when they could and parrying when they couldn't. To their dismay, Sao had years more of experience and skill refining to his advantage, and he was using it to the fullest.

Shibuki puffed in exhaustion, glaring at his opponent who seemed only breathing a little faster. Sao smirked as sweat rolled down Shibuki's forehead.

"Aww, is little Shibuki already too tired to fight? You know, if you just give me the Hero's Water, I can let you and most of the villagers live."

"I'll never give you the Water!" and charged again, but his slow reaction was his downfall. It was small, just the smallest mistake in his calculation. Shibuki stabbed towards Sao's chest, but his sword parried his own resulting in Shibuki's sword being flung out and stabbing into the ground a few metres away instead. Sao smiled.

"Die!"

Sao thrust the sword, fully intended to pierce his heart and end his life. Sword met flesh, a high pitched yelp/cry rang in the air, blood sprayed out, the limp body skidded a little ways back from the momentum. Blood oozed out of wound where the sword till lay embedded right behind the front leg, marring the red fur crimson.

--

A tall man in a black cloak jumped down from the rooftops onto the steps. He looked around, before putting his hand onto the door, as if looking inside without seeing. Satisfied, he pressed his finger to the lock, and if you looked closely you would see a small trail of red chakra.

The lock clicked and the man let himself in, closing the door silently behind him. He walked up to the kitchen bench and brought out is hands, holding them as if holding imaginary poles when skiing. Extremely concentrated dark crimson chakra swirled onto his hands, soon forming into the shape of short swords. The chakra disappeared, and in its place, the stranger held two swords.

The handles were black and gold, the gold line twisting around the handles. The scabbards were a black that seemed to suck all light and reflected none. The man set the swords down onto the bench, aswell as straps for the chest and a piece of paper with swirling elegant writing on it. The man walked out of the building, making sure to lock the door and disappeared over the rooftops again.

--

Shibuki watched in surprise and horror as Naruto jumped and pushed him out of the way, causing the sword to slide right though the side of his ribs and definitely piercing the heart. The smaller fox form lay breathing quickly on the ground. Red chakra surrounded it, and Shibuki looked in relief as he was sure he could heal himself. But what appeared when the chakra disappeared was even worse.

Naruto, now in human form, lay on the ground. His breathing coming in painful gasps. The wound was just as bad as before, the sword still sticking out of him. His eyes were open but glazed over, unseeing to the world. Soon, his breathing slowed and stopped.

Sao looked in surprise at the boy who was just a moment ago a fox. He looked at the hitai-ate on the boy's arm and chuckled in amusement.

So this is one of the great ninja team from Konoha that you paid to protect you. Where is the jonin instructor? Surely he didn't leave you behind. Or did he think that the mission would be easy enough for a bunch of genins, no?"

"Shut up, Sao! I will kill you." Shibuki shouted, anger coming from seeing Naruto protect him and lose his life. "One more time, I will beat you."

"Hmm, I wouldn't be so sure, little Shibuki." he said, flashing through the seals for Ice Sword. When he finished, he looked in surprise as Shibuki lifted a gourd from the boy and drank some of the blue liquid. Instantly, his body flared with chakra, the blue flame surrounding his figure. (Chakra is visible in this story because it doesn't look impressive without it.) "You will lose, no matter what!" he shouted and flashed through the signs, activating his sword. They charged.

Naruto looked at the new fight in mild interest from the ground. Though the entertainment was ruined by the large sword protruding out of his chest. But he would just have to bear it, after all, he was meant to be dead. The reason he was going all this way to get stabbed, which might I add is painful, and pretend to be dead was because he believed this was the only way to get Shibuki to fight better. Apparently it was working. The pair were quite well matched in their fight, but he noticed in dismay that the effect of the Water was slowly disappearing and he was getting slower. _Damn him! I though that the Water alone could defeat him. I guess Sasuke can help._ He shifted awkwardly and reached down towards the weapon pouch strapped to his left leg. Finally he managed to retrieve the kunai when he realised he would be too weak without his chakra healing him. _Ah, screw it._

Chakra surrounded the kunai and flung it with expert precision at the wire above Sasuke. The wire snapped with a twang and leaving Sasuke to fall face first onto the ground since wire was still holding his hands together. Sasuke didn't know where the kunai came from, but he took advantage of it.

Untangling from the wire, he took the kunai that freed him and started towards the fight.

Sao smiled, "This ends now!"

Unfortunately for him, it was that precise moment Sasuke chose to stab him in the back. He fell to the ground, dead.

Naruto grunted. "Finally!" and got up from where he lay. Everyone stared at him as if he came back to life. Hehe. Shibuki and Sasuke ran to him.

"What the hell, I though you were dead!" Shibuki yelled, and then saw the sword still stuck in his chest. "Oh, my god, you should be dead!"

Naruto sighed. "You all have such little faith in me, jeez did you really think I would die that stupidly. If I wanted to, I cold of just bit Sao's head off, why the hell would I jump in front of you, moron."

He frowned. "So why did you?"

"Gah, you humans are so shallow minded. I did it to make you fight him better!" as he said that, he pulled the sword out of his body, surprising everyone when the tip had melted and disappeared. Naruto looked at their expressions.

"What? Even I couldn't survive a stab to the heart without healing, so I just melted it before it reached my heart."

"Impossible, the Ice Sword is ineffaceable."

"My friend, I know a hundred different ways to melt and break such a low-level jutsu like that, though I can't do them all of course."

--

Soon the village was back to normal. Shibuki didn't suffer any effects from the Water and no one died, well except the bad guys.

Naruto and the rest of team 7 reached home, though Naruto had to walk with Sasuke glaring daggers at his back about being _too _powerful for his liking, and Sakura feeling as though she didn't do anything, which she hadn't. Kakashi was at the gates, talking to Kotetsu and Izumo.

"Ah, there you are, I as getting worried when you didn't come back. Surly there wasn't that much rubbish was there?" Kakashi asked questionably, obviously wanting the story, so they told him.

"Hmm, you all lived, I suppose. Good work, team, though I'll be sure to check of no danger before I leave if I must."

"What was the meeting about, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked.

"Well, it was a meeting about and organisation, that's all, nothing you have to worry about." He said, but glanced at Naruto. He caught the look and narrowed his eyes in suspicion. _Organisation?_

"Ok, meet me tomorrow in the usual place and time. Tomorrow I'll be teaching you some new jutsu, so sleep well and get a good breakfast. Ja ne." he said and poofed away.

"Yay! A new jutsu! Woo hoo." Naruto shouted and ran home in joy.

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_**A/N: **_Done! Haha. That was fun. You guys really need to tell me if I should rewrite the first few chapters. Comments and critism welcome.


	13. Reminiscence

_**A/N: **_**Another chapter up!! Don't forget to review, it would be much appreciated. I'm gonna do something new now, I haven't done a POV since the prologue chapter. Hope it is ok.**

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**Reminiscence **

Kakashi's POV

I looked up from my orange book and sighed. I had just finished giving my report to the Hokage and I was preparing to go back home and sit on my couch. Sometimes I feel this world is so unfair. That thought made me remember the meeting I walked in on…

_I sped down the road at full speed, then took the note from the Hokage and read it again._

Kakashi, please come at once to the tower and into the meeting room ASAP. I must talk to you now.

-Sandaime Hokage

_I sighed at the note. If he was desperate enough to send an eagle after me in a mission it must be something important. The gates of Konoha appeared in the distance, and in a matter of minutes I was hurtling myself through the gates_. _Neither_ _Kotetsu nor Izumo tried to stop me, so I assumed that they had been told I was coming. I jumped up onto the roof and continued roof-jumping, after all, that was much quicker than running in the streets._

_When I was close enough, I shunshined into the meeting room. I froze when I saw everyone. The Hokage sat at the front with Homura at his right and Koharu on his left. There was also Danzo, the old war hawk, who sat next to Homura. They formed the senior members of the village council and top advisors of the Hokage._

_The clan heads, consisting of Shikaku (Nara clan), Inoichi (Yamanaka clan), Chouza (Akimichi clan), Tsume and Kuromaru (Inuzuka clan), Shibi (Aburame clan), and Hiashi (Hyuuga clan). He had shunshined right into the middle of Danzo talking._

"_-know why this meeting was called, it's not important at all!"_

"_Ah, Kakashi, you're here. Good, just in time." I frowned at that. I was just in time? But I just barged into a meeting._

"_What is Kakashi Hatake doing here?" Danzo asked._

"_This is Naruto's sensei. I called him here so he would know what was going on."_

_Naruto? They are talking about Naruto? What has Naruto done? _

"_You see, Kakashi, one of our ninjas while on patrol near the south, he saw missing Konoha Nin, Itachi Uchiha and missing Kiri Nin, Kisame Hoshigaki around the area. This is extremely unusual since they have never been seen this close to Konoha before. We think that they may be after Naruto."_

_Danzo spoke up again. "You haven't told us how this information came to be. How do you know they are here for the demon?"_

"_Because I told him so."_

_The group turned to see Jiraiya standing leaning against the side wall. Jiraiya looked at Danzo._

"_You see, Kisame and Itachi are part of an organisation called 'Akatsuki' consisting of probably the most wanted missing-nin. The Akatsuki really like power. Do you remember when a member of the Akatsuki tried to steal the kettle containing the Shukaku? Ofcourse now they would try to capture Naruto. I mean, if I was as evil and power-hungry as them I'd also want an immortal fox demon as my weapon." _

_The clan heads started murmuring to each other. I narrowed my eyes; they wouldn't get him, not while I am alive._

"_What is it that this 'Akatsuki' needs the demon for?" Hiashi asked. Jiraiya turned to Shikaku._

"_What do you think the Akatsuki would use Naruto for, Shikaku." He asked._

_He frowned at the question while rubbing his chin with his fingers._

"_Troublesome, well, Naruto is quite young, so hasn't got control over all of his power, so is easier to capture. But I have no doubt that he will get stronger and the Akatsuki will probably want to use that power to, well, they could do pretty much anything. Take over a Shinobi village even, or destroy it."_

_The mutterings started again, albeit louder and a little panicked. _

"_What should we do?" Tsume asked Jiraiya._

"_We just need to look out for them, make sure that if they get close, we have Shinobi ready to fight them. Having Naruto has made the other villages cautious about attacking us so it is quite vital to keep him here. Kakashi," he said, looking over to me, "your job is to get your team ready for the ninja world. Teach em a few of the jutsu you have copied, especially Naruto."_

_Koharu scowled. "We can't teach train that thing to be more powerful, what if it attacks us, huh? What if the demon betrays us and kills us all." Once again, the murmurs started. I twitched as I detected agreement among the mutters. If there was one thing I've learnt about Naruto in the months I'd been with him, it's that he is solely dedicated to Konoha._

"_I have watched Naruto over the years and I have never detected any hate or anger at this village. He once told me that the Kyuubi had wanted him to protect us as long as he lived as a human."_

"_Do you forget that this is a demon we are talking about? Demon foxes are renowned for their lies and deceits. We could be falling into a trap." I had enough._

"_If I may, as Naruto's sensei I have seen and watched over my team for many months, and he has never once lied to anyone more than a normal person would lie. He cares for his teammates, and would do anything to protect them. He is hardly the demon you think him to be." I said. The Hokage smiled._

"_Alright, this meeting is over. Kakashi, you are dismissed." _

"_Hai." I said, bowing and shunshining off. I appeared at the rooftop I left from and went back to the gates. I had nothing else to do so I talked to Kotetsu and Izumo for a while, then jumped into a nearby tree and started reading my lovely book._

_A while later, just as I was reading the good bit I sensed my team approaching. I sighed in relief as I realised they were safe, then sighed in annoyance at how the sun was so low, meaning night was almost here. I sighed again as I realised I would probably have flashbacks on this day._

I chuckled at just how right my past me was. That was certainly a very troublesome day. I sighed at how I sounded like Shikaku. Then sighed again at how I kept sighing. I really should stop that habit.

**Normal!!**

Naruto was excited. His sensei would finally teach them a jutsu! He jumped along the rooftops until he reached his apartment door. Just as he stepped closer to the door he froze. _It couldn't be…_ Not giving a second thought, he crashed into the door, thoroughly snapping it off its hinges and charged into the kitchen where the familiar power radiated from.

He felt his heart drop as he realised it was just the trace of chakra his father had left behind. He collapsed into the chair as all the energy the excitement had brought on left him in a blink. _Wait, there's still too much chakra to be just a trace? _He looked curiously at the kitchen and his eyes widened at the sight of the swords. Jumping to his feet with new-found vigor, he dashed to see his presents. His eyes travelled across the gleaming surface of the black handle and gold spirals around it.

Easily, he fit the straps and wakizashi onto his back, making the swords cross over his back and stick up over his shoulders. As he relaxed into the straps, his eyes caught sight of a white piece of paper on the bench. He grabbed it up and read, his sharp blue eyes flickering over the writing.

_**Naruto, my son**_

_**I hope you are well, child. Living as a ningen may not be your dream, but always remembers that you are an immortal, do not stoop to their level. You must be feeling disappointed that I have not stayed to see you, it has been 12 years, though years do not matter much to me. I'm sorry I couldn't stay, for I had to help my 7th class brother eradicate the stupid 3rd class rat demons, though I must admit they are a tasty treat, if you have the speed to catch the tricky things. I will most likely visit in the next 20 years or so. I have realised that when you fight, you must use your chakra every time. The swords I made are to help you fight better and fit in. Put a little bit of chakra into it and you will know how to use them instinctively. Be warned, that doesn't mean you are ready to use them to fight anyone, you must train with them, feel the swords as if an extension of your arm. I will end here.**_

(I'll explain the class thing at the end.)

Naruto smiled at the letter. Those 3rd class rats were annoying, and it was just like his father to say 'I will end here' at the end. He walked into his bedroom and to the self. At the shoulder level top ledge sat a fox plushie that looked like a chibified version of himself. Still smiling, he pressed his forefinger onto the black nose of the fox and inserted a little chakra into it. Almost instantly, a bubble of red chakra emerged from the fox's back.

He put the letter into the bubble, where it floated in the middle and released the chakra flow. The bubble slowly sank back into the disguised safe keep, bringing the letter with it.

--

Kakashi smiled at the three genin in front of him. Sasuke was to his left, leaning against the rails of the bridge. Sakura was standing next to Sasuke, glaring at him for being late, though she should learn that her tantrums about his lateness wouldn't change a thing. Naruto was on the left, and his eyes widened at the sight of the shining handles of two short swords poking over his shoulders.

"Ohayo, team! I have decided to teach you a few jutsu today!" For some reason, he was reasonably happy this morning.

"First I'm going to see your chakra affinity. Sasuke and Naruto, you will most likely be fire, but we can see whether you might have another one too. Sakura, I'm not sure about you, but the jutsu I have for you that doesn't use an element. Here." Kakashi said and handed them each a small rectangular piece of paper. Kakashi chuckled amusingly at there confused faces.

Just push some chakra into it and see what happens. You first, Sakura."She nodded and looked at the paper. Soon after, the paper turned soggy.

"You are a water type. I'll try to find a jutsu suitable for you. Sasuke?" Sasuke put chakra into his piece and it immediately split in two, half in ash and the other half crumpled.

"You are a fire and lightning type. That's good, usually genin only have one element. Lightning is my element so I can teach you a few jutsu." He said and turned to Naruto. He held up his piece, and it was split in two like Sasuke, one side turned into ash and the other split cleanly in half. Kakashi's eyes widened.

"A wind type is fairly rare, Naruto. But that is a good combination. Wind combined with fire would make a powerful attack." Kakashi examined the cut. "And the edge is cut smoothly too, signalling a lot of wind natured chakra. Good, good. The other affinity you could have gotten is earth."

"Each element is different, and each element can overpower another but can also be overpowered by another. Water is strong against fire, weak against earth. Fire is strong against wind, weak against water. Wind is strong against lightning, weak against fire. Lightning is strong against earth, weak against wind. Earth is strong against water, weak against lightning. It is kinda like a cycle."

"Your affinities will enable you to learn the jutsu faster and control it easier than the other elements. Use that to your advantage."

"Alright, I'll start with you, Sakura. I'm sorry I can't teach you a jutsu I have copied because I decided you are fit to use a Genjutsu." As he said this, he took a small scroll from his pouch and gave it to her.

"Your chakra reserves are a little low, but with chakra exercises we'll hopefully be able to bring that up. This is a middle C-rank jutsu that makes the target see black splotches everywhere, effectively disorienting them and blocking their vision in some places too."

Sakura opened the scroll, reading the jutsu out loud, "**Genjutsu: Black Sight."**

"When you have enough chakra you can almost make their whole vision black." Kakashi added. She smiled happily and said thank you. He nodded and turned to Sasuke.

"Hmm, I'll give you a lightning attack, ne? I copied this from a Kumo Nin. It's called **Lightning style: Charged Path**." Kakashi started going through hand seals and crouched down to slam his palm onto the ground. Erupting from his hand, a line of electricity travelled along the ground towards a tree and burnt it severely. The students watched with wide eyes.

"This is quite a useful technique. It is lower B-Rank and with enough practice you can bend the path of the lightning. Unfortunately it is quite chakra draining the longer the distance and it only works on earth. The seals are Rat, Dragon, Horse, Boar, Snake and Bird." Kakashi turned to Naruto.

"I don't know many high classed wind attacks, but a fire attack should do for now. This is **Fire style: Super Flame Bullets**." Going through the seals, he began spitting out large fire pellets at incredible speeds while holding the Tiger seal. Once the ball hit something it would burst into a mini bomb, making part of a tree burn and gouged out a large hole. The students eyes widened as they felt the heat.

"This is a Higher B-Ranked jutsu that uses a lot of chakra, though that shouldn't be a problem for you. The fire burns a good 150'C, quite useful for fighting. The seals are Tiger, Rat, Dragon, Monkey and Tiger. The bullets will become larger with more chakra. Ok, start practising."

The three nodded and went to a different part of the training ground.

"Sakura, practise the Genjutsu and when you feel it is ready you can try it on me, alright?"

"Ok, Kakashi-sensei."

A few hours later, Kakashi called the three genin back. He gave them all a closed eye smile.

"Now, I'm sure you're eager to show me your progress, ne? Ok, Sasuke, show me what you got."

Sasuke smirked and went through the jutsu. "**Lightning style: Charged Path!**" he yelled and slammed his palm onto the ground. Immediately, lightning shot along the ground, but before it even went 4 metres, it fizzled and died. Naruto's mouth twitched as he saw the annoyed glare on the Uchiha's face.

"That's good, Sasuke, considering you've only bee practising this for a few hours. Just keep practising the direction, the distance will come over time. Now, Sakura, why don't you try the Genjutsu on all three of us?"

She nodded hesitantly and started the seals. "**Genjutsu: Black Sight.**"

Kakashi and Sasuke started seeing a few small blotches, but not enough to disable someone effectively. Naruto wasn't able to tell whether it was good or not since the Genjutsu didn't work on him.

"Hmm, we are going to have to work on your chakra reserves, Sakura. You won't be able to use this if you can't block there vision enough. Naruto?" _Hmm, let's see what you've got, Naruto. Hope you can surprise me._

Naruto nodded and started the hand seals. "**Fire style: Super Flame Bullets.**" The fire's heat that came from his mouth almost made the two genin stagger back and the jonin to crack a smile under his mask. Five balls of searing hot flame burst out of Naruto's mouth and headed straight for the tree, one after the other smashing into the trees trunk until the final ball hit, destroying the trunk and making the poor tree fall over.

"Yay! How was that, Kakashi-sensei? Are you gonna teach me another jutsu? Huh? Huh?!" Naruto said excitedly, showing his childish side. Kakashi's eye once again crinkled into an upside down semicircle.

"Not today, Naruto. Its noon, time for some lunch. Meet me at the tower at 1 for a mission. Ja!" he said and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

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**A/N:** Just to let you know, **Sasuke will awaken his Sharingan later on**, he **didn't **awaken it when fighting Haku. Until next time.

Questions, queries and advice, give me and a review!


	14. Face to Face

_**A/N: **_**Sorry it's a bit late, I had this stupid wide reading thing to do at school. Hope you enjoy!**

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**Face to Face**

"Let's see, I've got picking up rubbish around the village, taking a few dogs for a walk, do some jobs for Mrs Hakanimi…"

"OH KAMI KILL ME!!!!!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the great Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure, 'The Professor', looked up from the scroll and twitched. Kakashi, as always, had his nose stuck in his orange book. To the right of him was Sasuke, arms crossed and an arrogant look on his face. Sakura was to the right of him, hands of her hips and glaring at the floor to her left, which was currently occupied by a grieving Naruto.

Naruto was sprawled on his stomach with his arms outstretched in front and his nails scratching the wooden floorboards.

"Why is my life so messed up?! Why do you hate me so much, Kami? Why did you send me to this horrible place?! It's torture!!!!!" Naruto cried, tears pouring out of his eyes. If I saw this, then someone came up to me and said that demons never cry, I'd slap them in the face.

"Naruto, you're over-reacting! Don't be so rude to the Hokage!" Sakura shouted at him.

"Sakura! These stupid missions are torture! I can't take any more. Come on, old man! Isn't there some bandits we should kill, or some rich guy we have to protect?"

Before he could reply, Kakashi spoke up.

"We'll take the tasks." He said, eyes still glued to his piece of porn.

"Traitor."

"Great! Team 7, go to 6th street and you will find Mrs Hakinimi. She has some jobs for you to do. Run along, you don't want to keep the client waiting."

"Yes, ofcourse, we can't keep the client waiting, that would be a horrible thing, cause then she'd be wondering where we were, and then she would start looking for us, possibly break her leg while she's at it-" Naruto continued to rant as he walked out the door followed by his team.

-----

"Oh, you must be the nice little dearies that are going to help me," the old lady said. She was short, as short as the genin; her grey hair was tied in a bun and she was wearing a faded pink gown on.

"I have so many things to get done and so little time that I thought it would be a good idea to hire ninja for it."

Kakashi nodded. "How many things do you need done, Mrs Hakanimi?"

"Just three, oh perfect, a task for each of you! How great is that?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Oh yes, it's so great." He mumbled.

"Alright, dearies, you," pointing to Naruto, "can take this cake to my friend's house in 25th street, 3rd house. Her son just had his birthday and I made the cake just for him."

Naruto took the cake and stared at the woman with innocence. "I'll be sure to say happy birthday."

"Oh how nice of you! There should be more people like you around here. Now," she said, looking at Sasuke, "I need you to get some cough medicine from Konoha hospital. The best kind is the most expensive, so use this money and buy the best one there. And you, oh your hair reminds me so much of my cherry trees. I need you to get me a bunch of lilies. The smell of lilies always makes me smile."

Kakashi turned to his students. "Off you go then, meet me at 2 for some more training sessions, this time for Genjutsu. Have lunch before you come. Ja!" at that he poofed into smoke.

-----

Surprisingly, the cake was a very big two story. If Naruto laid it on the ground it would reach his knees. As for the citizens of Konoha, they weren't sure what to do. It's not everyday they saw a demon walking down the street holding a large chocolate cake.

Naruto looked around. _Hmm, 21__st__ street. 22__nd__ street. Ah, here we are. Now, 3__rd__ house, 3__rd__ house, ah!_ He walked up the steps and knocked. To his dismay, another old lady answered the door.

"Oh hello there! My, what a lovely cake! Is this from my friend Kira, Kira Hakanimi?! It is?! Oh how thoughtful! Do you mind saying my thanks?! Have a nice day, young man!" and promptly shut the door.

Naruto stood there. His hands were still outstretched as if holding the cake and his face was a mix of confusion, disbelief, incredulity, shock and, well, more shock. After a few moments, he walked down the steps, his ears ringing from the way the lady shouted in his face. _She must have been half deaf! _He shrugged and ran towards his favourite place, Ichiraku Ramen.

Sasuke walked briskly into the hospital, hoping to get this over and done with as quickly as possible. He walked up to the counter. A pretty young girl was working there. _Great._ When see saw him, her eyes went wide, a smile stretched over her face and she finally managed a delighted squeal. Sasuke ignored it.

"What's the best cough medicine you have?"

Apparently, hearing the last not to mention cute Uchiha talk to her was too much. She squealed again and ran off into the store room and slammed the door shut. Sasuke stood there, staring blankly after the girl. Then he twitched. _ So much for as quickly as possible._ After a few moments contemplating whether or not to leave, the door flung open and the girl leapt out, hands clutching a small carton as if her life depended on it.

"Here's the best cough medicine here, Uchiha-san. I'll let you have this one for free**. **My name is Umi I work here on every Wednesdays and Thursdays, ok?"

Sasuke grunted and walked off with the medicine, promising himself never to go to the hospital on those days.

-----

Sakura headed towards the flower shop. Hopefully, Ino wouldn't be working there today, though she did want to talk to someone, and Ino was an ideal candidate.

Finally she saw the flower shop. The Yamanaka's owned the only flower shop in Konoha. She stepped inside, peering curiously around. The counter seemed empty until the blond appeared from behind the counter.

"Hi welcome to – oh, Sakura! Hi." Ino said cheerfully.

"Hi Ino. So tell me, how's your team?"

Ino scowled at the question. "Shikamaru is so lazy and all he wants to do is lie on the ground and watch clouds drifting pass or play shogi. And Choji is kind but he's kinda fat and always does whatever Shikamaru wants to do. Asuma-sensei isn't too bad, except for the fact that he _always_ has a cigarette in his mouth, even if it isn't lit. Overall, I guess my team isn't too bad, can't be as bad as having a demon in your team."

"Naruto isn't what you think. He is really annoying and always annoys me and Sasuke but he isn't scary anymore. Did you know he can turn into a fox?"

"Really?!"

"Yeah! On this mission to Wave, he turned into a really big fox, as big as a two story house! And then we were on another mission, and he was this small fox, this small, and he attacked me! Though I guess it was kinda my fault."

"What colour is he when he's a fox?"

"Umm, he's got red fur, and he has this really long tail. His feet and tail are tipped black, but his eyes are still blue with slits. I have to admit, he is kinda cute when he's a fox, except when he's growling at you, then he's just plain scary."

"Wow, I want to see him as a fox. But he isn't gonna kill me, right? I mean, he's a demon, I'm surprised he hasn't tried to kill you yet."

"Naruto's different, remember? He was raised here and he knows who he's going to protect. He is special, well not as special as Sasuke, ofcourse."

"You only got Sasuke on your team because you were only average in the class. Be warned, I haven't given up on Sasuke, one day he will be mine!"

"Yeah right, Ino-pig! He is on my team, and that clearly means that we are destined to be together. Love will prevail!!!"

"Oh, come on, Forehead, you and I both know that Sasuke prefers me over you."

"How would you know?!"

"It's as obvious as your forehead?"

"Grrr, I don't have time for you, unlike you, I have a mission to complete."

"Hah, my team got the day off today. Even though I have to work, it's not as bad a doing D-ranked missions all day."

"Goodbye Ino!" Sakura said angrily and stomped out.

"Bye Sakura, come back soon!"

It was quite in the shop, then suddenly the door flung open and Sakura stormed back in.

"Wow, when I said come back soon, I didn't mean this soon."

"Shut up, Ino, I just came for a bunch of lilies."

-----

Naruto just had his fill of heavenly ramen. The old man Ichiraku and his daughter were one of the few people who weren't scared of him or hated him. As he rounded the corner he was surprised to see a young boy running towards him. He sidestepped so he wouldn't get tackled, but the idiotic child turned right at the last second and crashed into him. The boy fell to the ground on his back while Naruto staggered backwards.

Once the boy got his bearings, he glared at Naruto and shouted, "You! You ran into me!"

Naruto blinked before glaring back. "Hey kid, get it right. You were the one who crashed into me, not vice-versa."

"What the heck does vice-verse mean? And you did too run into me!"

"Why you-"

"Young master!"

The pair turned to see another person running towards them. His Hitai-ate covered his hair and he wore a blue shirt and pants. The man stopped in front of them, puffing slightly.

"I have finally found you, young master." As he said that, he turned to the other boy.

"Oh, it's you." He said with badly hidden disgust.

"Yes, it's me."

"Hey, you still haven't apologised for running into me yet!"

"Why the hell would I apologise for something I didn't even do!"

"Do not talk to the young master like that! Do you even know who he is? He is the grandson of the great Sandaime Hokage-sama." (**I'm probably going to start useing a few of the suffixes but not all the time with kun and chan…**)

Naruto picked the kid up from the scarf and looked at him closely. The boy smirked, finally he realised who he crashed into. Naruto snorted and hit him on the head.

"Oh yeah, your so special, I can smell the specialness in your breath (cookies for those who know where I got this from). Get real, kid. Just because you're the grandson of the old man doesn't mean I'm gonna bow down to you." Naruto left him on the ground and walked off.

Naruto had long since grown used to the different looks he got, but occasionally, he would feel a pang of sadness. The villagers still didn't realise that he wouldn't harm them, on the contrary, he desperately wanted nothing else but to protect the village and keep its occupants safe. Most of the ninja in Konoha didn't mind his presence much, though they didn't interact with him. About the only jonin ninja he really knew was Kakashi.

Kakashi was a strange one. Naruto could clearly see that Kakashi held no fear or anger towards him, and he didn't mind his presence at all. You could almost say he was a fatherly figure, though he was too young. Much too young. In human years, Naruto was 15 when he was changed into a human, and was currently 27. Demons may be immortal, but they can die. When his father dies, Naruto will take his place as King of Bijuu, though he'd have to have his 9th tail. If he didn't, than the Hachibi would be crowned King.

Than again, the death of a Bijuu was very few and very far between, so Naruto didn't have to worry about that for another few thousand years.

He was brought out of his thoughts when he noticed something following him. He glanced back to see a rock. Not only was the rock square, and had eye holes, it was also obviously moving towards him at a crawl. He turned towards the rock.

"Hey, get out of there, you are clearly following me and you are clearly bad at disguises."

The cardboard box with rocks painted on was flung of and the boy from before leapt from underneath.

"Ah. Nothing less than what I expected from you, Boss!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Boss? Why, may I ask, am I your Boss?"

"Because you're the only one who hasn't bowed or praised me just for being he Hokage's grandson."

Naruto blinked. The boy had determination, definitely. You could see it in his eyes.

"What's your name?"

The boy beamed. "My name is Konohamaru!"

"Konohamaru, huh? Nice name. Well, Konohamaru, I have to go now, but if I meet you again, I promise to teach you something."

"Yay! You're the best, Boss. See ya!" he shouted and ran off around the corner. Naruto smiled and was about to walk off when he heard a thud, then an oof, then an unknown voice shouting, "You little punk, you are so gonna pay for that!"

-----

Gaara followed his siblings discreetly. He didn't know why he felt so uncomfortable being with them, perhaps it was the fact that they were scared that he would suddenly go crazy and kill them in a blink. Gaara felt something in his chest, a strange feeling that wasn't pleasant, but he ignored it. Suddenly all his senses went on high alert. _Impossible, a Demon? Here?_ The demonic chakra was strong and pure, meaning the demon wasn't inside a jinchuuriki. Back in the recesses of his mind, he could hear the loud howling of Shukaku.

_**Another demon! He is strong, do not confront him!**__ Even Shukaku is afraid. Best be wary._ He thought. He watched as his brother, Kankuro, lifted a child up for crashing into him. He again watched as his sister, Temari, tried to stop Kankuro from hurting the boy. He stiffened as he saw the demon he had sensed run around the corner.

-----

"Hey, put him down!"

Kankuro looked up from the boy to see another boy glaring at him. He sneered.

"Or what, you'll kill me?"

_I wish I could._ "Do you even know who the boy is? He's the Hokage's grandson."

Kankuro's eyes widened in fear, but was soon replaced with another sneer. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna kill him. Just teach him a lesson." Naruto's eyes narrowed. But not because of what he said, but because Naruto suddenly felt a demon presence. But that was impossible…

"Kankuro, stop."

The group turned their attention to a boy of Naruto's age. He had strange garments on and, wait, is that a giant gourd on his back?! The stranger disappeared in a swirl of sand and materialised beside Kankuro.

"Leave the kid, we are wasting time. Let's go." Kankuro and Temari's eyes widened. _No intimidation, that's strange. And we've got 3 more days. Leave the kid? Gaara doesn't show mercy._ He put Konohamaru down, who was quick to run behind Naruto. Gaara turned his attention to Naruto. He stared back, then frowned in confusion and recognition.

"Shukaku?"

Gaara's eyes widened, and his sibling gawked. _How…_

Naruto's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Why are you a human? What the hell are you doing in Konoha?! Wait, your chakra is tiny. Who are you!" Naruto shouted, body instinctively crouching into a stance.

"I will tell you if you tell me." Gaara said, with a slight tremor.

Naruto paused, wondering if he should tell him. Then he started hesitantly, "Naruto Uzumaki, genin of Konoha."

This time Gaara's eyes narrowed.

"Then why do I sense demon chakra in you?" His siblings gasped quietly.

Naruto sighed and started again, "Naruto Uzumaki, son of Demon Lord Kyuubi no Kitsune. There, I said it, now tell me who you are!"

Everything was silent, then Gaara said, "Gaara of the Sand, Jinchuuriki of Shukaku."

Naruto frowned. "Jinchuuriki? The Power of Human Sacrifice? Hmm, then what are you doing in Konoha?"

"We are here to attend the Chunin exams."

Naruto was surprised. Kakashi hadn't told them the Chunin exams were being held here, let alone soon. Then he sighed._ Should have known… Kakashi-sensei isn't one to tell us these types of things._

"Alright. But if you kill any innocent villager, I won't hesitate to kill you."

Gaara nodded stiffly and walked off with Kankuro and Temari following robotically.

Naruto sighed, then looked down at Konohamaru. "Are you alright?"

Konohamaru looked back. "Y-you're a demon!"

"Yeah, I'm sorry I didn't-"

"Awesome!"

"-tell you, wait, huh?

"That's so cool! You must be uber strong, right? I mean, being a demon and all, you must be able to beat Gramps!"

"Ah-ha ha, probably not. I do have the chakra and strength but I'm not very experienced. The old man would probably take me down in a matter of minutes, he is the Hokage after all."

Konohamaru looked glum. "Aww, I wanted you to teach me how to beat grandpa. Then I'd take his place as Hokage of Konoha."

Naruto chuckled at that.

"Konohamaru, even if you do beat the Hokage in a battle, that doesn't mean you will automatically be Hokage. You have to show Konoha and your grandpa that you are a ninja that will be able to protect Konoha and lead them through times of struggle. You have to show them how brightly the Will of Fire burns in you. Just take a look at your name. The old man loves this village so much, he named his beloved grandson after it."

Konohamaru smiled. "Just you wait, Boss. I'll prove to everyone that I'm strong enough to be Hokage! Just you wait!"

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_**A/N**_**: Hmm, a page longer than the last chapter. I spent many days on this chapter, I hope you guys are grateful!**

**Questions? Comments? Criticism?**

**Have your say instantly by pressing the button**

**Below!**


	15. What I Want Most Is

_**A/N:**_** Oh gosh, I totally forgot about chapter 13 where I said I would explain the demons being class. Well I've made it so most demons are 8****th**** class and below but the 9 Bijuu are all 9****th**** class. Naruto is classified as an 8****th**** class demon, being the son of an 9****th**** class but not a Bijuu. **

**Also I've made mistakes because I forgot that Naruto was transformed into a 1 year old and not a new born, so some of the measurements are screwed. Naruto is now 26 years old. Sorry about that. **

**//Important!!**

**If you're wondering about the jutsu Naruto used against the swordsman Ichugo, it's called **_**Fox Soul **_**and it can only be used when he has 3 tails and over on his chakra cloak. The jutsu probably won't feature much since 2 tailed and over cloaks are draining and Naruto technically only has 1 tail.**

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**What I Want Most is...**

It was nearly 2, so Naruto thought it best to see Kakashi, and definitely kick him for not telling us the Chunin exams were being held soon. Oh boy, if it turned out Kakashi didn't even think of entering them he was going to kick his perverted ass so hard he'll land in Iwa!

Walking into training ground 7, he realised that his teammates were already there in their rightful place, Sasuke standing with his arms crossed, trying to ignore the annoying pink-haired kunoichi, though she looked more like a lost puppy.

Before his teammates saw noticed, he jumped into a nearby tree with thick branches and leaves to conceal him. _How stupid are they! Kakashi-sensei won't be here for another 2 hours!_ Quickly morphing into a fox, he settled himself down, since his laziness got the better of him and all he could think about was having a nice, good nap, and reprimanding Kakashi when he got there ofcourse!

5 minutes before Kakashi was expected to come, Naruto's nose twitched as a figure jumped into the tree and crouched on the branch he laid, looking at him curiously. Naruto opened a blue eye, not in the least bit surprised to see the grey haired jonin. He snorted in disdain at having his nap interrupted.

"I never realised you changed into a fox in Konoha." Kakashi said, and amused twinkle in his eye. Naruto only snapped his mouth open and shut.

"You can't speak while foxy?"** (NOT LIKE A HOT GIRL OR SOMETHING WEIRD LIKE THAT! SICKOS! Might actually use this from now on…)**

Naruto growled at his terminology and attempted to flick him of with his extending tail, though the stubborn jonin didn't budge.

"Aren't you gonna come to the team meeting?"

After a sigh, Naruto grudgingly got up, transforming back into a human and jumped down to join his teammates.

"Naruto, do you know how late it is? And you finally decide to show up!"

"But Sakura, Kakashi-sensei is obviously going to be late, so why bother being on time?"

Before she could retort, Kakashi appeared in a puff of smoke. "Yo!"

"You're late!" Sakura shouted.

"Ah, yeah sorry, you see there was this stray dog, and you know how much I love dogs-"

"Save it."

"Hehe, right."

"Kakashi-sensei, you wouldn't happen to know anything about a certain Chunin exam, do you?" Naruto asked ominously.

Kakashi paused in thought, then started sweating profusely.

"Aa, gomen, completely slipped my mind. Haha." He said and reached into his weapon pouch, producing three sheets of paper.

"I entered you in, ofcourse. These are the forms, just put your signature onto them and I'll hand it in. here's some pens." Kakashi said, three pens magically appearing in his hands. After the genin signed the forms, Kakashi pocketed them.

"Okay, students!" Kakashi exclaimed in a loud voice. **(Kinda OOC, I know!) **"It is my pleasure to teach you the art of Genjutsu! I mean, how can you create an illusion without knowing how it works! I know you know about Genjutsu, Sakura, but we gotta get the boys up to speed, ne?"

At that, Sakura blushed at the complement while the boys snorted.

"Genjutsu, or illusionary techniques, is the art of creating an illusion that will be able to trick, confuse, and even capture, though only a selected few are talented enough to create an illusion strong enough to incapacitate a person that well. You probably know that Genjutsu works by messing with the victims chakra, making their senses go haywire or you control what they see, hear, taste, small and feel."

"There are three ways to stop a Genjutsu. 1, you stop the flow of chakra in your body with Genjutsu Kai, or getting someone else to do it. 2, you can inflict pain to yourself to break the Genjutsu, and 3, with luck or good allies, the caster will be distracted and the Genjutsu broken."

Kakashi's eye closed and curved up. "Genjutsu needs focus and precision, near perfect chakra and timing. So Sakura, what Genjutsu do you know?"

"Ano, sensei I only know the one Genjutsu that I read in a book in the library."

"Ok, why don't you give us a demonstration, hmm?"

Sakura smiled shyly, but on the inside… _**Cha! Finally a chance to show Sasuke-kun how good I am!**_

Doing the required hand signs, she called out, "**Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique.**"

The two victims looked around to find themselves inside a field full of blooming cherry blossom trees. But after a few moments, the image faded away, revealing Sakura huffing slightly and Naruto standing there looking confused.

"That was great, Sakura. It's even a C-Rank. We just need to build up your chakra supply so you can hold it for longer."

"Kakashi-sensei, I didn't see anything." Naruto said, still confused.

Kakashi turned to him in surprise, than made a hand sign. Kakashi stared at him, and he stared right back. After a minute or two, Naruto scratched his head.

"Uh, sensei, what are you doing?"

Kakashi replied with a closed eye smile. "I guess I should have expected this."

After a few moments, Naruto whooped. "Ha, I'm immune to Genjutsu, aren't I!?"

"It looks like it."

Naruto whooped again. "Yeah, this is awesome. Immune to Genjutsu!"

"Well, I don't know if powerful Genjutsu will work, since I only used a B-Ranked on you. You should still be prepared, though I'm not sure how you're going to train with your ability."

"It's probably something to do with my chakra not being able to be controlled."

"Yes, it could be. Do you know any Genjutsu?"

Naruto thought. "Oh, I only know one." And started going through handsigns.

"**Fox Illusion: False Flame.**"

The group was suddenly surrounded in a tall ring of fire. Sasuke gasped, Sakura yelped, and Kakashi looked closely at the dancing flames. Eventually the two genin realised the flame was the same temperature as the air. Kakashi swiped his hand through the flame, it coming out unharmed.

"I can make it hotter, but not as hot as the real thing." Naruto said, and the flames died and disappeared as if never there.

"Good job, Naruto. Definitely an effective illusion to use in battle. Make sure, if you do use it, that you don't use it repeatedly, only the least experienced will fall for it again."

Naruto smiled widely. "Ofcourse, sensei. I'm not dumb."

Kakashi just smiled and turned to the exasperated Uchiha.

"I don't need to learn Genjutsu. Once I unlock my Sharingan I'll be able to copy and use my eyes."

"Aa, Sasuke, it's good to learn a Genjutsu that doesn't require the Sharingan. Plus you haven't activated it yet."

Sasuke crossed his arms angrily. "It'll activate soon. I know it."

_Oh boy…_ "No harm comes from learning a new jutsu."

"Hn, fine."

"Alright. I guess I should mention this, I'm not particularly good at Genjutsu, but I can certainly do them. I'll be just teaching you all the same Genjutsu. It's called **Genjutsu: Induced Dreams**. Unfortunately, the victim has to be either physically or mentally tired or low on chakra, but it can sometimes be useful for other things. The hands signs are Bird, Ram, Rat, Ox, Horse, and Rat. After that, you just touch the forehead of the person. The victim will see whatever the victim wants to see, and on the outside they would appear unconscious."

"The Genjutsu will last for as long as you want it to be, or it will end if you don't have enough chakra. There are generally no side-effects, though they would sometimes feel a little sleepy for a few minutes afterwards. Sakura, may I try this on you? Don't worry, it'll be over in just a few moments and you won't feel a thing."

Sakura looked uncertain, but she didn't want to look like a coward in front of _Sasuke-kun_. She nodded. Kakashi smiled and went through the hand signs and touched her forehead.

_Sakura blinked to see herself sitting on a bench surrounded by Sakura trees. Than she realised that sitting next to her was Sasuke! And he was smiling!_

"_Sasuke-kun!"_

"_Oh, Sakura-chan, have I ever mentioned how pretty you are?"_

_Love hearts erupted into her eyes. "Oh Sasuke-kun, you really thinks so?"_

"_Definitely. You are the prettiest girl I have ever seen."_

_She barely suppressed a squeal at those words. Than she pouted._

"_What about Ino-pig? She says you only like blonds and don't like people with big foreheads."_

_Sasuke smiled warmly at that. "Silly 'Kura-chan. You and I both know Ino is lying. She doesn't know me. I love pink hair you know. And a big forehead means you are smarter than her."_

_Sakura blushed. Her dream, it was coming true!!!!_

_Sasuke looked at her, than slowly started to lean in._Oh my god, he isn't. He isn't! Oh gosh, he is!!!_ Sakura closed her eyes as Sasuke leaned in closer, and closer…_

"Sakura, Sakura, wake up." That voice was unmistakably _not_ Sasuke's. She opened her eyes to see her sensei staring at her in amusement and holding her up… and her beloved Sasuke-kun standing to the side, eyes uncontrollably twitching and Naruto on the ground, shaking with laughter.

_**Just a few minutes ago in the real world…**_

Kakashi caught her by the shoulders as she fell and gently let her sit down. The two teammates looked intently at Sakura as she mumbled the words…

"Sasuke-kun!"

Kakashi faintly sweat-dropped, Sasuke's eyes widened in pure horror, and Naruto's mouth instantly pressed together to suppress the growing laughter in him.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun, you really thinks so?" she continued to mumble, and with each passing moment Naruto's sniggers grew more pronounced. Sasuke had a massive urge to slap him in the face, than slap himself in the face, than slap Sakura. All of this continued to back up the blatantly and dreadfully true statement -- '_I hate fan girls._'

"Hmm, that's strange. The victims aren't meant to be able to sleep talk." Kakashi stated, amusement added thickly. All three twitched when they saw Sakura pout, as if… about to kiss someone. Naruto couldn't take it; he collapsed onto the floor, laughing like an idiot. _This is as funny as Gato threatening us with bandits, no, scratch that, this is even funnier!_

Kakashi, the merciful person he was, hastily broke the Genjutsu.

"Sakura, Sakura, wake up."

Kakashi watched as Sakura opened her eyes blearily. Now Sakura was no dumb ducky, so after a few minutes of seeing the actions of her fellow teammates, it dawned on her. Sakura's entire face turned an incredible shade of red. (**Sorry to the Sakura lovers, it was just meant to be funny)**

"U-uh, u-u-um." She stammered.

"Don't worry, Sakura. At least you weren't thinking something else with Sasuke." Kakashi said in a happy go lucky tone. Naruto snorted in laughter, Sakura seemed to blush even more, and Sasuke added 'Slap Kakashi' into his mental list.

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_**A/N:**_** I know it's really short, but I hadn't updated in a while and it's raining and I don't want to write anymore. I should post this tomorrow since it's the holidays but I really can't wait!!**


	16. Trainings and Kidnappings

**A/N: **Hey guys! If you wanna see an angsty story, you can read my 3rd story, '_Unknown Soldier_' but it's a songfic. Anyhow, thanks for reading my stories!!!

_**Just thought I'd tell you**_**, I've run over my earlier chapters and improved them, and changed some of the information to make it more believable and overall better. Check it out if you wish, I'd suggest you do!**

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**Trainings and Kidnappings**

_**5 days till Chunin exams**_

Naruto stared at the two swords on his bed with awe. After the first few minutes with it on, he hardly felt them, even though they were pretty heavy. He smiled as he remembered Sasuke eying the elegant swords in jealousy, and Kakashi also glancing at them, but Naruto hadn't used them in front of his team. He wanted it to be a surprise for the Chunin exams. That didn't mean he wasn't practicing.

Fitting the swords back onto his back, he went out, locked the door, and leapt across the rooftops. He found an empty training ground, but when he landed from the tree he paused. _I've been doing kata's the whole time. I need something to test my skills._ Then he got it. Suddenly a hundred shadow clones popped into existence. They all held the same swords, but Naruto knew they wouldn't have the power of the original. They were only normal swords. Luckily these clones were special. They were able to take any hits; it was only cuts that made them disappear.

Over the past few days, Naruto had shaped his own unique style that fitted the swords abilities perfectly.

Naruto got into his stance, which was facing one set of the clones (since they surrounded him), his feet set apart diagonally and his hands holding the swords at mid level.

At a silent command, 10 clones charged.

Even though Naruto was strong and powerful, there had been no one to teach him actual combat and Taijutsu, which he lacked severely at. Oh sure, he had one mean punch, but what good was that if you weren't fast and flexible enough to hit someone? So Naruto got to work on Taijutsu. No Ninjutsu allowed. Luckily Naruto's actual stamina was incredible. He would probably go on well into the night, and it was only 5, it was still bright outside.

The first clone reached him and attempted to swing at him with one sword. He repelled it smoothly, using his other sword to go in, but that clones other sword also blocked. Naruto's sword faintly glowed red, and the clone's sword was sliced, allowing the sword to reach its target. Not soon after, he jumped, missing a swipe at his stomach and kicked with his foot, leaving the clone skidding face first into the dirt.

"Aww, three against one, that's not very fair!" Naruto pouted as the clones ran at him. Feigning to the left, he drew the clone towards him, then kicked away one of his swords, leaving him defenceless on one side, and Naruto was quick to take advantage. One of the other clones made quite a deep cut on his arm, but almost unconsciously he healed it up with crimson red chakra.

Deciding to payback, he made several short jabs and feigns before finally landing the killer blow. The other clones watched, waiting.

The last clone from the three decided to wait. Neither blond wanting to go first, since the waiting one would have the advantage. Finally, the real Naruto had enough and quickly closed the gap.

They fought for a few minutes, but Naruto's sword was able to cut through the clone's defences and it poofed out of existence. It was a good thing he realised the shadow clone's secret ability. Getting an insight on what the clone, thus himself, did wrong was extremely helpful. Pity he couldn't replicate his sword, though he did notice a few of his clones going off and doing other things. _Wow, they're smart, I mean, I'm smart, since they're me!_

More clones charged as the minutes went by. Whenever Naruto felt like it, the sword would glow red hot and cut through anything, even the ground. Though, if that was the only special ability of the swords, it wouldn't be very powerful.

About twenty clones were left, and they stopped attacking. The swords had three main abilities. The first was some strange ability, (Naruto hadn't quite figured out the physics to it) it would glow red when he puts a bit of chakra into it. The swords are able to transform, like handsigns, the chakra and enable the swords to cut through anything. Well, anything Naruto could find, but he might yet find something it can't cut.

The second was it seemed to be some sort of flexibility, where the sword could be connected to his chakra and move at least 20cm from his hand, where by controlling the chakra, he could control where the sword points and the like. Naruto hoped to get the length longer, though it was tough to keep thinking about the chakra. A loss of concentration resulted in a lack of connection and swords drop unhelpfully to the ground.

The third was Naruto's connection with the sword, enabling him to know where the two shorts swords were if they had somehow been taken. It also had the ability to be called into his hands if he couldn't reach them himself.

There were a few other special bits to the swords, like one time Naruto had left the swords in the scabbards on the ground near a tree to practice water-walking. Naruto noticed that a squirrel that had been around his jacket, when going near the swords, they faintly glowed. Naruto wasn't sure what would've happened had the squirrel ventured further since it ran away at the glowing. Though he was still curious and kept it in mind.

"Ok, clones. Let's start a taijutsu match. No weapons, not even kunai this time. We've got to learn how to fight without them."

Naruto put his swords back in their sheath and the clones' swords poofed out of sight.

"Lets begin!"

The battle ensued, and soon bodies were flying everywhere, oofs and yelps and smacks and thumps, and even something that sounded strangely like a drowning crow/pig. Set on fire. In a whirlpool. Being target practice for children throwing rocks. Ok maybe not the rocks, but it was a strange sound and made most of the clones plus original pause in their attack, but the battle soon continued, and we may never remember the strange sound, or unravel its dark and twisted secrets.

Ah-hem.

Naruto tried to punch one of the clones in the nose, but it leaned away, to far for it to see and react to Naruto sliding his right foot behind the clone's left foot and jerking it up. Catching the foot, he quickly flung the poor clone at the one behind him. Let's just say the two clones got to know each other pretty well.

A clone charged and attempted to kick him in the stomach, but Naruto directed the attack away and the clone soared past him, almost managing to drag Naruto with him when he got a hold of Naruto's shirt.

As the clone half dragged him, he used the momentum to punch another clone in the gut, causing the clone to double over. Naruto chopped the back of the clone's neck. If he did that to a normal human they would be either unconscious or have a broken neck, but the clone just poofed out of existence.

40 minutes later, Naruto had managed to destroy the special clones. The clones that had done the other stuff had poofed out of existence and Naruto got the information. The jutsu Kakashi had taught him had been mastered and his chakra control got better from the clones climbing trees. Naruto changed into a fox form just because it was easier and he could lie down and sleep. The swords he had had also gone where his clothes went, which Naruto found out seemed to be in his subconscious mind.

Naruto lay down on the grass. He would wake up later and work on his Taijutsu form a bit more.

----

It was about 7 and Hinata Hyuga (**Google won't tell me whether it's 1 u or 2!) **walked down the brightly lit streets. There were still people around as she continued on her way back to the Hyuga household. The Clan buildings were in sight and Hinata cut through a small alleyway to get there faster. Soon the village lights were blocked and all she could hear were muffled sounds.

A step alerted her to a presence, and she tensed, afraid. She spun around but not in time to stop a ninja (a civilian couldn't approach without her knowing) from grabbing her and covering her mouth and nose with a strong smelling cloth.

The lat thing she saw before passing out was a gleam of light passing over the man's hitai-ate, with Cloud's symbol on it.

----

Naruto's eyes snapped open as he sensed an unfamiliar chakra travel closer to him. The ninja was running pretty fast, but the thing that caught his attention was a chakra he did know. _A Hyuga?_ The two were getting closer, and heading straight for the training grounds.

Naruto lifted himself silently and crouched behind the tree, poking his head out. A tall man with black garments on was jogging slowly and silently across the field, head moving from side to side constantly and eyes darting. Over his shoulder was a large sack, about the size of an average 12… year…. old. He mentally cursed as he recognized the Cloud insignia.

The Cloud had already once tried to take a Hyuga before so they could start their own mighty clan. That was 7 years ago. Suddenly he had a plan.

----

Himaru laughed maniacally inside his head. _I did it! Soon Cloud will become the greatest hidden village and they will all bow down to me and worship me for giving them such a magnificent gift!!!_ Yes, he was a little bonkers from a blow to the head when dropped as a baby.

He kept running, then stumbled. He looked around to make sure no one saw him, because that was embarrassing. He ended up blaming the girl for being so heavy. Someone should tell him about the Fox and the Sour Grapes.

He came across some sort of training ground, and made sure he checked there were no people around before crossing the grassy field. Almost halfway there, he gasped and stopped as he saw movement from behind a tree. Than sighed in relief when he saw a red fox. _I love foxes!_ Not anymore, he won't.

Dropping the girl in the sack, he crouched down and held out his hand.

"Come here, foxy woxy. I won't hurt you. Aww, you are just the most adorable fox I've ever seen! Maybe I should also take you back to Kumo, you can be my pet!"

Naruto rolled out his tongue at the man, as if he was excited, while inside… _Pathetic moron. Stupid human. Gullible mortal. Whoever sent this load of trash mustn't have had much money._

The fox padded his way towards the man's outstretched hands and licked them without hesitation. The man produced a girly squeal. He was so happy about the fox he didn't realise the fox wasn't afraid of him at all.

_Ick, if this wasn't part of the plan, I would bite him._

Naruto than went up to lick the man's eyes and as soon as the man closed them, Naruto swiftly chopped him at the back of his neck with his tail. The unsuspecting ninja slumped to the ground.

Now that that was done, he didn't really know what to do now.

He could leave them and let someone find them, but what would happen if the chunin ninja woke up and took the Hyuga away. _The Hyuga!_ Naruto hurried to the sack and swiftly cut the rope with his teeth. His tail pulled the sleeping form from the sack. Naruto looked the girl, than looked away, a small blush under his fur. _She's kinda cute._

Making sure she was breathing, he also looked to see any wounds. He found none. Good, the man hadn't hurt her. Naruto looked at the face more closely, and faintly remembered seeing her before. _Ah, that's it. She was in the classroom the day I went to the academy. What was her name again?_ He sniffed her face, and concluded that the chemical used was quite powerful, and she wouldn't wake up for another few hours. But he couldn't leave her here. It was getting darker and it was quite a cold night.

Turning back into a human, he made a shadow clone.

"Go get someone."

"Like who?"

"I don't know! A ninja! Get someone we know."

"Uh, Kakashi-sensei?"

"I suppose so. He's pretty much the only ninja we know, apart from the Hokage."

"Alright, Mission: drag Kakashi Hatake here whether he wants to or not!"

"Just get moving!"

"Yes sir!" he saluted before bounding off.

Naruto sighed. _I guess since he isn't the real me he can goof around like I want to._

Naruto positioned Hinata to lean against a tree, then tied the hands and feet of the Cloud ninja with ninja wire. Changing into a fox, he laid his elongated tail over the ninja and sat between the girl and the Shinobi. If the Shinobi woke up, he would instantly tell either from the breathing or movement.

But for now, Naruto felt like a nap.

----

Admittedly, Kakashi didn't get many visitors. Usually they were Anbu or Gai. Preferably the Anbu. So imagine his surprise when he feels Naruto's chakra at his door. After a few knocks, Kakashi opened the door. Naruto's weary face brightened up.

"Sensei! I finally found you."

Kakashi closed eye smile. "Aa, well done. May I ask why you needed to find me at this late hour?"

"Oh yeah. I'm just a clone, but the original is watching over one Hyuga and a Cloud ninja. The cloud ninja had attempted to kidnap the Hyuga and most likely take her back to Kumo. Since you're just about the only ninja I could find, I came to you-"

He was interrupted by Kakashi grabbing his arm and dragging him over buildings. He whistled distinctly three times and soon they were accompanied by three Anbu wearing Ox, Bird and Rat masks.

"We've had a breach. A Kumo ninja has infiltrated Konoha and attempted to abduct an unknown Hyuga. Naruto, the Kumo ninja…"

"Unconscious and knowing me, tied up. The Hyuga has been knocked out by some sort of chemical."

"Where?"

"Training ground 14."

The group sped faster towards that direction.

----

Naruto sat up as he became aware of his clone and several others nearing the grounds. He quickly changed back into a human and knelt down to observe the Hyuuga. She was still sleeping. In the middle of checking the ninja for signs of waking up, Kakashi and the others appeared and ran towards him.

Kakashi may have been a jonin, but he used to be an Anbu captain and was well respected in the Anbu community, so no one was dumb enough to disobey him.

"Rat, Ox, take the Hyuga to the hospital and the ninja to Ibiki. Bird, inform the Hyuga of this. I'll inform the Hokage."

All three said Hai and disappeared. Kakashi turned to Naruto.

"Let's go, we need to tell the Hokage."

He nodded and released his clone while following Kakashi.

----

"Start from the beginning, Naruto."

"Uh, well I was training with these swords, and thought I'd take a nap as, well, I guess sensei told you that I can change into a fox." Which got a nod from the Hokage. "I sense a foreign chakra and also the Hyuga's chakra, so I, well…" He drawled off.

"Yes?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head.

"I tricked him into thinking I was a normal fox and when he closed his eyes I chopped him on the neck."

The Hokage spluttered and almost dropped his pipe while Kakashi muffled a cough of surprise and amusement.

"Well, I didn't really feel like fighting him!" Naruto protested.

"Yes, of course, you did the right thing. Never get into a fight when it can be avoided easily."

"So who is the Hyuga?"

Kakashi thought about it. "I believe she is Kurenei's student, Hinata Hyuga, since she is the only 12-year-old Hyuga girl currently."

"What about the Kumo nin, who's Ibiki?"

This time Hiruzen spoke. "Ibiki is the Head of Interrogation. Once the ninja wakes up, Ibiki will be able to obtain the required information and we'll see if he was doing this on his own or working for the Raikage. If he is, it could become very complicated."

"Didn't this happen a while ago? What happened then?" Naruto asked.

"Last time, Hiashi killed the ninja, so Kumo demanded his body, wanting it as restitution. Obviously they wanted the secrets to the Byakugan, so Hizashi, Hiashi's younger twin, sacrificed his life. And since the curse seal seals the Byakugan after the user dies, the secrets were safe."

"You are both dismissed." The Hokage said.

They bowed and Kakashi disappeared in leaves while Naruto decided to walk out the window.

* * *

_**A/N:**_** Done! My favourite part was when Naruto told Kakashi about the kidnapping. Don't ask me why, I just think that bit's so cool! **

**And you need to tell be whether I'm making this too slow. All the other fics have the Chunin exams in, like, the 5****th**** chapter. Tell me if I'm cramming too much in!**

_**Please review, it really makes a newbie like me happy!**_


	17. Ah Love

_**A/N: **_**It's been a while since I last updated. Its cause I've had a sudden obsession with **_**Doctor Who**_**! Mainly David Tennant and John Barrowman–drool- Love that show!!! Bear with me!

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**

**Ah Love**

_**3 days till Chunin exams.**_

"The target is approximately 6 metres away, facing East. The wind is going North so I should stay hidden from detection. Oh god, it's turning around! It can see me!!! Mayday, MAYDAY!!!!"

The small creature leapt. Its sharp claws extended, eyes glaring hatefully, and Naruto knew he wouldn't make it.

"Offmmph, ow, get it off me!"

Naruto struggled to keep the creature at bay, the many scratches marring his face distracting him. Thankfully Sakura plucked the cat off his face.

"Naruto, you're scaring her! Why do you have to be so loud!" she said, gently holding the purring cat.

"Sakura, it's not my fault, The cat just plain hates me!" Naruto replied, rubbing his face as his rapid healing got to work.

"Well done team. Tora has been safely captured. Let's go back to the Tower."

----

_Come on, squeeze! Harder! SQUEEZE HARDER DAMMIT!!!!_

Naruto and Sasuke stared at the Daimyo holding her cat intently, twitching in pleasure every time the cat yowled. Sakura looked on in horror. _How could she do that to the cat! _Kakashi was doing his usual thing.

The Hokage looked amusedly at them.

"Alright Team 7, no more missions for today. You are going to train with Kakashi for the Chunin exams. Dismissed."

----

"Taijutsu. We are doing Taijutsu today. I'm going to test you, first will be Naruto and Sasuke. You will fight each other without the use of chakra. Kunai and shurikan are fine. Come here Sakura."

Kakashi stood and Sakura sat underneath a nearby tree while the others walked apart and faced each other.

"This'll be easy. You may be good at fancy tricks, but when it comes to Taijutsu, I'm the best." Sasuke taunted.

"Hey, I've practiced hard on my Taijutsu."

"You probably rely on your wakizashi. By the way, where is them? You lose them?"

"Of course not! I left them at home. And besides, I won't need them to beat an arrogant prick like you."

"This is a physical spar, not a verbal fight. Start!" Kakashi ordered.

Immediately Sasuke ran up to Naruto and attempted to throw a punch, which Naruto easily avoided and retaliated with a side sweep. Sasuke jumped and spun kicked Naruto's head. He ducked, and in the moment when Sasuke was facing the other way, Naruto kicked out. Hard.

Sasuke went flying forward but managed to right himself and landed on his hands. He used the momentum to flip himself. Sasuke glared murderously at the grinning Naruto, and resisted the huge urge to rub his sore behind.

"Did you like that? I call it The Great Kick to Someone's Arse When They Aren't Looking!"

Officially humiliated, Sasuke growled and charged blindly at Naruto, throwing a furious flurry of punches and kicks, all inaccurate due to his uncontrolled rage. Naruto easily evaded all of the attacks calmly, and after spotting numerous flaws in his guard, jabbed Sasuke's ribs painfully. Sasuke paused, and the next thing he knew was himself flying through the air again, his hands holding his stomach where Naruto had just kicked.

He skidded on the ground, but pride quickly kicked in and he stood up immediately. Just as Sasuke was about to charge him again, Kakashi appeared and held him back.

"Stop, this is supposed to be a skills assessment. I'm going to tell you your strengths and where you need to practice."

Sasuke shrugged him off.

"Hn."

"Naruto, your fighting style, I've never seen something like that before. What is it?"

"It's not really a fighting style, since I made it up. I just calculate the opponent's style and decide what to do on the spot. I've been practicing it plenty."

Kakashi was surprised, not that he showed it. It was hard to make up a style on the spot that countered someone else's fighting style.

"Ok, what you need to improve? Hm, you should practice on your footwork. Keep moving, stay alert so you can move at anytime's notice."

"Now Sasuke. Your style is near perfect, but you need a little more speed and you have to keep your emotions in check! Your anger caused you to fight blindly, giving Naruto the upper hand. And remember, even when you unlock your Sharingan, you still have to train your body. Sakura, you are now to fight Sasuke."

At that, she instantly spoke up.

"But I don't want to fight Sasuke-kun! Don't make me fight Sasuke-kun, Kakashi-sensei!"

All three mentally groaned.

_Oh boy…_

_Here we go…_

_She is such a pain in the…_

"Alright Sakura, you will fight Naruto, okay?"

"Alright."

Naruto and Sakura stood apart from each other, the latter glaring determinedly at the former. _I'm gonna be great, and Sasuke-kun will cheer for me, and when I beat Naruto-baka, he will congratulate me and give me a kiss! –Sigh-_

_**Cha! Bring it on, Naruto. I can take you!**_

Sakura ran at Naruto, and started fighting with the academy style. Naruto blocked every one of her strikes. It was clear to everyone that Sakura wouldn't be able to beat Naruto, purely from the lack of power, stamina and speed.

After about five minutes fighting, Sakura grew tired. The constant punching, kicking, jumping and twirling were not something she was used to and her muscles were aching. Sweat dribbled down the side of her forehead. Seeing this, Kakashi asked them to stop.

"Your form was near perfect, but what you lack is speed, power and endurance. Here, you too Sasuke." He said and gave them both four sets of weights.

"These weights will help build endurance and power, and that will increase your chakra levels." Kakashi turned to Naruto, whose mouth twitched in humour.

"You aren't seriously thinking I need weights, are you?" Naruto asked incredulously.

Kakashi did his closed eye smile.

"Ah, no I don't think you'll be needing weights. I know you certainly have enough chakra and stamina."

Naruto's mouth split into a happy grin and bowed.

"Why, that is the single most wonderful compliment anyone has said to me!"

"Uh-huh, right. Well, there is nothing else for now. For the next few days, come to the usual spot and we'll do D-ranked missions, mostly in Konoha. Ja!"

And with that he poofed out of sight.

----

"Are you feeling better, Hinata?" Kurenei asked.

"H-hai, sensei. I'm m-much better n-now." She replied, stuttering slightly in her timid voice.

"Ya know, I really think you should be still resting, Hinata. Ya look a little pale." Kiba said.

"D-don't worry, K-Kiba, I'm f-fine. I have t-to keep train-ning for the Ch-Chunin exam"

"Alright, but don't push yourself too hard today. You still have a few more days till the exams." Kurenei said.

----

Ino looked up at the bell's ring to see Hinata walking in.

"H-hello Ino."

"Oh hi Hinata! Flowers for your mother?"

"Y-yes please."

"Alright, be back soon!" she said as she went into the storeroom, and quickly came out again. In her hands were a bunch of white and lilac flowers.

"Here you go!" Ino said with a smile. Even though Hinata was shy, she had been extremely kind to everyone, and no-one despised her.

"T-thank you, I-Ino." She said, handing over the money and holding the bunch.

"Good-bye."

"Bye!"

Hinata walked out again, but she walked no more than three was she suddenly knocked over by something blue and white. Her flowers flew out of her hands, and she was about to hit the ground when a hand grabbed her shoulder and stopped her. She watched as her flowers were also caught. She turned to look at the person who bumped into her/caught her and instantly started to blush. _Oh my…_

Staring at her was a boy her age, with the clearest blue eyes filled with concern, and spiky blonde hair. He also had distinctive black whisker markings on each of his cheeks.

"I'm so sorry, are you alright?" The boy asked.

Hinata just blinked, than remembered the boy's name. Naruto Uzumaki, Konoha's Demon Boy, she remembered him from the one day he was at the Academy. Then she realised how close she was to him. She froze, and her red cheeks turned a shade of purple. Naruto panicked slightly at that.

"Hinata?! Hey, are you alright? Oh gosh, I bumped you too hard, I'm so sorry!"

Naruto said worriedly, bringing her up to stand, though not letting go in fear of her falling. Hinata quickly scrambled inside her brain to say something to reassure him

"H-how did y-you kn-now my n-name?"

Naruto slowly let go.

"I recognize you from that night. Well Kakashi-sensei told me."

Hinata was still blushing slightly from the close proximity, but a confused frown etched onto her face.

"U-um, w-what night w-was this." She asked.

Naruto also paused, than smiled sheepishly. "Oh sorry, of course you wouldn't recognize me; you were unconscious the whole time. Do you remember, you know, with the Kumo ninja…?"

Hinata realised what he was talking about.

"O-oh! Y-you a-are the o-one who resc-cued me!"

"Right! Oh, who told you that?"

"U-um, Kurenei-sensei."

"Ah! Are you better now, Hinata?"

"Yes…"

A shout interrupted her.

"Boss! I found you!"

They turned to see two small boys and a girls running towards them. Eventually they skidded to a stop, all three puffing loudly, hands on their legs.

"Boss! –puff– I found –puff– you!" The boy in the middle gasped out.

"Took you long enough, and plus, I wasn't even hiding yet."

He was about to retort when he caught sight of Hinata.

"Wow Boss! Is this your girlfriend! She's pretty!" he exclaimed, rather loudly might I add. In an instant, Naruto and Hinata's faces grew bright red. Hinata crumbled, and Naruto caught her.

"Hinata? Hinata?!" Naruto said worriedly, shaking her, but she was out like a light.

"Wow Boss! She must like you a lot to faint like that!"

That comment earned him a bop on the head.

"Shut it! She isn't my girlfriend!" Naruto shouted rather loudly.

"You three go play without me, I'll take her to the Hyuga Compound."

----

"Excuse me, but why is Hinata-sama unconscious in your arms." Neji said tensely.

Naruto had carried her quickly, ignoring many of the suspicious looks he was thrown, and finally came close to the main gates when a boy older than him comes out.

"I'm really, really sorry. This isn't what it looks like. I don't know why but she fainted at a comment my friend said." Naruto said quickly, getting annoyed at the end comment. He still thought it was Konohamaru's fault Hinata had fainted.

Luckily he didn't have to explain any further, because Hinata woke up.

"Oh Hinata, you're awake! Quick, explain to him I didn't attack you!"

Hinata blinked a few times, them her eyes widened and her cheeks were suddenly filled red. She passed out.

"Hinata?! Hinata!! Oh my God there's something wrong with her!"

Neji sighed. He still remembered the day Hinata graduated. She had had a small blush for the next two days, and she seemed to smile to herself and occasionally stare blankly at a wall. _So this was the boy she saw on that day. Interesting, Hinata-sama has a crush on a demon._

"It is alright, Naruto, she is fine. Give her to me, and you may leave." (Most ninja's know his name, and I suppose most civilians do too)

"Ok, if you're sure." Naruto said, handing her over to him.

"Bye, oh what's your name?" Naruto asked.

"Neji."

"Bye Neji!"

(Neji seems kinder to Hinata. He still despises the main branch, but he doesn't hate Hinata that much, she's too kind to be hated!)

_**

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A/N: **_It's a little short, isn't it? I'm so sorry, and it took so long!!

**Please go to my profile to vote on an event in the future chapters!**

**Review!!  
**


	18. Clouds Have it Easy

_**A/N:**_ **Attention!!!!!!!!!**

**This chapter is really short! So will the next one! That is because there are important things to write about but not that much! It'll only last for two! Count em, two chapters!!!

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**

**Clouds Have it Easy**

_**2 days till Chunin exams.**_

There was only one word to describe the day Shikamaru had that morning.

_Troublesome._

He slowly made his way up to the rooftop where he could relaxingly lie down, bathe in the warm glow of the sun and watch as the clouds floated by. And finally, after all the effort to get up there, he saw it.

He stared at it, and stared at it, shock and surprise freezing him in place. After a few minutes of hard, troublesome thinking, he walked up to it and lightly kicked it. One blue eye idly opened, looked at Shikamaru, then closed, apparently not caring about the human interfering with it's own sun bath.

_What a drag._

After a few minutes of thinking, he sighed heavily and lay down next to the fox, put his hands behind his head and gazed at the clouds in envy.

This time, Naruto opened both eyes and turned his furry head towards the other boy. He definitely recognised the chakra from, oh yes! The boy who had been sleeping much of the lesson on Graduation day.

Naruto got up, looking at the boy who didn't seem to care what he did. After staring a little while after, he deftly lifted a paw and kicked him.

"Oi!" Shikamaru said with a twitch.

He looked at the fox's face, and saw one of its eyes widening, as if smirking. He went back to staring at the clouds, but at the corner of his eye he saw a surprised look come upon the fox's face.

"I know it's you, Naruto. What gave it away you ask? Let me think, maybe because a) we don't have any pet or summoned foxes in Konoha b) you're smart enough to be annoyingly troublesome and kick me and c) foxes don't have a tail that grows longer in seconds."

Naruto stuck out his pink tongue as his long tail continued to scratch his face. Stepping back, he quickly morphed back.

"You're very smart for a kid, ya know. Rational too. Aren't you even a little scared of me? Cause technically I'm a demon and demons are evil and kill people cause you are so mortal and weak."

"Troublesome. If you really wanted to kill us, you would have done so 12 years ago."

"Ooh, I like you! What was your name again? I remember you from Graduation day."

"Shikamaru Nara. Will you be going to the Chunin exams?"

"Of course! You too?"

"Unfortunately."

"What! How could you say that!? We could become a chunin."

"Nah, it's too much of a drag to become a chunin. At least, not now. My dream is to become an average ninja, have an average life, marry a normal girl, have two kids, one boy and one girl, have a happy life and die in my sleep when I'm 80."

"How boring! You need something better to live for." Naruto said.

"Too troublesome. What's your goal in life than?"

"Mine? Well I haven't really though about it hard. Then again, unlike you, I've got plenty of time to think of one. You humans are only mortal, only living for 100 years than you die, so don't waste it, Shikamaru. Live life today, cause you never know what will happen tomorrow."

"…it's too troublesome to think about that."

"Oh and I suppose talking to me right now is troublesome."

"…"

"You have a really strange sense of humour, you know?"

"…"

"-sigh- Goodbye Shikamaru, see you in the exam!" he said before leaping of towards his apartment.

Shikamaru smiled at the peace and quiet and watched the clouds float by with half-lidded eyes. The afternoon sun shined nicely through a thin sheet of clouds. A messenger bird flew over head. The muffled sounds of the day to day hustle merged with the sound of the gentle breeze rustling up the many leaves that adorned the many trees. _Naruto Uzumaki… what a troublesome blonde._

"Man, clouds have it so easy."

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_**A/N: **_Ta daa!! Molto bene! I absolutely love this chapter, even though it's small, I've put so much of my heart and soul into it, and it would make my day to see you appreciate it too. Also if you review and tell me so!!


	19. One Heck of a Genjutsu

_**A/N: **_**Just so you know, Naruto's eyes flash red when he's angry and a full demon, but if he's just a normal fox, his eyes are still blue.**

**Also he can only be a full demon like with Haku for a really short time, and he's usually very angry.

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**

**One Heck of a Genjutsu**

_**1 day till Chunin exam**_

The day started out perfect. I mean, as perfect as you can get with villagers glaring at you, shielding their children away at the mere sight of you, but the sun was shining, the sky was blue, the birds floated overhead, what could have possibly gone wrong?

"Ah Kakashi!! My eternal rival!! How are you doing on this magnificently youthful day?!"

"I'm… reading?"

"Kakashi! That book is most unyouthful! How about a battle against me! We are tied 30-30, how bout it?!"

"Hm, did you say something?"

"Argh! You and your hip and cool attitude! You need the flames of youth, right Lee?!"

"Yes Gai-sensei! He should become as youthful as you!!!"

"Ah Lee, you are most youthful!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

Then the Genjutsu initiated.

The setting sun shone as the green jonin and his mini clone hugged each other animatedly with tears streaming down there faces. The jonin's other students hastily looked away.

Kakashi also looked away, not wanting to have his day ruined by the image when he saw Naruto staring horrified at the two, sweat forming at the strain of trying to look away. _Damn._

He was quick to leap to Naruto and cover his eyes.

The part of Naruto that wasn't frozen in shock and horror idly wondered how the powerful Genjutsu affected him when a mysterious saviour blanketed his eyes in a sanctuary of darkness. Then at last…

"Kakashi! Who is that boy who's eyes are covered by you hand?"

The hand was taken away from his eyes, and he blinked as he adjusted to the light. Once he could see clearly he looked at the unfamiliar group. There was the obvious jonin, given away by his jacket, but he was also wearing a hideously green spandex suit. And of course his clone was beside him, and beside him were two others, one clearly a Hyuga and a girl with her hair in two buns.

"Uh, Gai this is one of my students, Naruto Uzumaki, and Naruto this is Gai Maito and his team."

Naruto was still trying to get the image of the two hugging out of his mind.

"Um, hi."

"Ah, you are Kakashi's student! I can see that your flames of youth burn as bright as day! These are my students, Lee Rock, Neji Hyuga and Tenten Higaraku (made up). Will you be participating in the Chunin exams tomorrow?"

"Of course. Wouldn't miss it for the world." He said dazedly.

"Great! So are my students! I'm sure you and your youthful team will do great!"

Neji sighed. Gai was always eccentric.

"Sensei, I think it is time for us to train now."

"Yes Neji! We shall leave now. Goodbye Kakashi, goodbye Naruto! Team, we must race to the training grounds, to show our youthfulness to the world!"

"Yes Gai-sensei, if I cannot beat my previous time, I will do 50 laps around Konoha on my hands!"

"Yes, and if you cannot, I will do it with you!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Yosh, let our flames of youth burn brightly!!!"

And with a round of battle cries, they sped off, leaving a trail of floating dust. Tenten and Neji sagged their shoulders. They said their goodbyes to the pair and left after the disappearing duo. A few moments past.

"What… that HELL was THAT!!"

"Maa maa, Naruto. You get used to it."

"Are you kidding? That was just… How can there be such… oh hell!!"

"Gai… can be a little eccentric at times, but he is the best taijutsu specialist in Konoha, in fact, it would be hard to find a better taijutsu specialist anywhere."

"…Right."

"Well, Gai has been training his genin for quite some time now, so it could be a little difficult to beat them in a battle."

"Sensei, I'm insulted! Do you have such little faith in me?"

"You know that's not what I meant." He said, deadpanned.

"Don't worry, I won't go down easily." Naruto said, laughing.

Kakashi closed-eye smiled. "I'm sure you won't. Remember to watch out for your teammates."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Ja!" Kakashi said and disappeared in a poof of smoke.

_**

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A/N: **_**I really hope I got Gai and Lee right. Please tell me if it's wrong.**

**I expect at least 3 reviews before I continue though, so REVIEW!!**


	20. Chunin Exams

_**A/N: **_I got my first critism! Well, there was one before but I'm not really sure if it was actual critism… It's at the end!

**You are voting on whether Sasuke get's the curse mark on my profile, but it seems to be heading towards Sasuke **_**not **_**getting the curse mark. I don't really agree, and I had actually expected people to let him get the mark. **

**Guys, you need to realise that Sasuke isn't really meant to be a good person in this story. Consider it carefully, and if the poll still says don't let him get it, I won't make him get it, but I think that is a mistake.**

If my story doesn't fit with the canon, it was most likely deliberate, so please don't go reviewing saying it needs to be more like it!

**

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Chunin Exams**

_**Day of Chunin exams**_

"Why?!!! Why do you have to wake up every damn morning and sing at my window?! Tell me, damn it!!!!"

Suffice to say, Naruto did NOT like early mornings. Even demons need their beauty sleep. Naruto flopped back down into his bed and snuggled into the warm covers. That lasted for about five seconds before he flung the covers off and stalked moodily into the bathroom. He was one of those guys that can't get back to sleep once woken.

Naruto looked in the mirror, eyeing his poofed up hair with an impassive gaze. He glanced at a pile of papers lying on the ground. The words _writing_ and _exam_ floated through his head. He shrugged and hopped into the shower.

After he got out, he looked into the mirror while drying his hair. _There,_ he though, _that looks much better._ He ruffled up his hair again and walked to the kitchen, making some breakfast. He glanced at the calendar on the wall. The words _special _and _time _appeared. While drinking some milk, he looked at the clock. _Time _once again floated through his mind.

10 minutes later Naruto ran as fast as he could over the rooftops and skidded to a halt in front of his two teammates.

"Haha, whoops. Sorry for being a little late."

They both scowled at him. Sasuke shook his head. _Yep, the strangest demon I've met and probably ever meet._

"Let's just go in already."

Sakura walked with the two, but she was worried. People die in the exams, and she knew that she wasn't a very good one, and it's survival of the fittest. She breathed I shakily. _I can't quit, Sasuke will think I'm weak._

----

The three looked at the gathering by a door which said 301. Two genins were talking to another three.

"You aren't ready to be in the Chunin exams, I'd be doing you a favour by keeping you out." One of the two said.

"Please, we just want to get through." A girl cried.

"Huh, really?" he said, and slapped her, making her fall to the ground.

"See, you can't even dodge that! You're too weak. Get out now before you die."

Then Sasuke walked towards them.

"Oh please, do you think we're stupid? We want the 3rd floor, this is the 2nd floor."

Naruto felt like mentally slapping him for Sasuke's ignorant stupidity. _Idiot, why did he do that, we could have left the rest here and gained less opposition._

"Oh, so you figured it out?" the other boy said and above him the sign blurred and changed to 201.

Sasuke snorted.

"That illusion was weak. Sakura probably saw it right away, didn't you?" he said, turning to the surprised girl beside him. Sakura looked shocked at him.

"Oh, uh, yes, of course I saw it. It was clear that it was an illusion because we had only gone up two flights of stairs." Sakura said confidently.

Naruto twitched a smile. _At least he was smart enough to give her confidence._

The boy beneath the sign smirked.

"Since you're so smart, boy, let's see how well you fight!" he said and attempted a kick. Sasuke saw this and kicked his own leg to meet it. Everyone blinked as wind was blown and suddenly a boy in green stopped both of the legs with his arms.

_Fast… _was pretty much what everyone thought.

Another boy with pale white/lilac eyes sighed and rubbed his temples.

"What did we say about acting weak, Lee?"

"I'm sorry Neji, but…" he stopped because he spotted Sakura. Instantly he was by her side.

"You must be Sakura! I have heard of you from Gai-sensei who heard it from Kakashi-sensei! You are beautiful!! Please, allow me to be with you and protect you forever!!!!!!!!"

Sakura twitched.

"No. Way. Wha-what are you wearing?! And that hair is weird! And those… eyebrows! They look like big fuzzy caterpillars!!!"

Lee's body drooped at the rejection. Naruto walked up to him and patted his back.

"Aw, come on, Bushy Brows. She'll warm up to you!" Sakura growled at him at the last comment.

Lee smiled at him, anime tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Oh Naruto, you are such a great friend! And I only just met you yesterday! Yosh! You have given me new hope! I will never give up on you my beautiful cherry blossom!!!!!" She shrieked in fear.

Naruto smiled evilly, then pouted as he realised the time.

"Come on, guys, we gotta go to an exam."

The two nodded and followed him to the stairs, Sakura looking fearfully at the genin staring at her with love heart eyes.

"How do you know that freak?!" Sakura almost shouted to Naruto after they were far enough away.

Naruto shrugged his shoulders.

"I met him and his team yesterday with Kakashi-sensei. And if you didn't like him, you should meet his sensei! It's like they're clones!!"

They both shuddered.

"And their Genjutsu is probably the single most horrible thing you might ever see. It was lucky sensei was there to cover my eyes else I probably would have gone into shock and become paralyzed for days!!"

Sakura gasped in horror while Sasuke rolled his eyes at the exaggeration. All three turned when they heard his name called. Standing on the ledge was none other than Lee, looking down at Sasuke determinedly.

"You are Sasuke Uchiha, yes?"

Said person smirked up at the green clad boy.

"Yes, that's me. What do you want?"

Fire sprang into his eyes.

"Fight me! I wish to prove to myself that even someone like me can beat a prodigy in battle! I have trained hard for this day, please, fight me now."

Sasuke looked surprised for a moment, than an arrogant grin appeared.

"Alright, you can be a warm-up for the exams."

Lee smiled triumphantly and jumped down to them. Naruto shook his head and lightly tapped Sasuke on the shoulder.

"That is a bad idea. You may me an Uchiha and all, but Lee had been a genin much longer than you have." At that, he glared at him.

"Hmph, I'm disappointed in you. You've underestimated me, and overestimated him. He can't be a good fighter, with all that green he's wearing."

"Oh you poor stubborn fool." He muttered under his breath, but nevertheless released him. After all, this would probably be the funniest thing he'd seen in weeks!

Sasuke was quick to charge.

Sasuke was also quick to get thrown onto the ground skidding.

Sakura and Naruto both gasped at the incredible speed the other genin had just shown. Sasuke slowly got up, rubbing his chest where he was kicked, scowling at Lee still in his stance, as if he hadn't even moved.

Sasuke charged again.

This time, he actually lasted quite a bit longer. That is, until he was kicked into the air. Lee crouched down, then disappeared and reappeared under Sasuke's flat body. The bandages around his arms unwound it's self and was about to wrap around Sasuke's body when a shurikan fro outer nowhere embedded itself into the wall, holding the bandages with it.

"Lee! What did we say about that move?!" The man who threw the shurikan shouted. (No turtle sorry!) Lee landed on his feet, and quickly bowed to the older version of him. Sasuke… fell to the ground on his butt.

"Forgive me Gai-sensei!!" Lee cried.

"I will, but you will be punished!!" Gai shouted, and promptly punched the boy in the face, making him skid to the ground.

Lee got up again, tears streaking down his face, his cheek slightly swollen.

"Gai-sensei!!!

"Lee, for trying to do that forbidden technique, you are to run 50 laps around Konoha wearing and extra 100 kg of weights after this exam."

"Yes Gai-sensei!!"

"LEE!"

GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"Hello Gai, fancy meeting you here today!!!" Naruto shouted, desperately trying to make them stop. Lucky for him, it worked.

"Ahh, Naruto! The youthful student of my eternal rival! I see you have kept your word and with your flames of youth, came here to face the many challenges expected to come!! I am most certain that you and your youthful teammates will do excellent in the exams!!!"

"Yes Gai I'm sure we will do just fine now we have to go bye-bye!!" he said hurriedly, dragging the other two along.

Kakashi was waiting for them by the door. He smiled at them, still holding his orange book.

"Ah, you all made it. That means you can go in."

"What do you mean by 'we all made it'?" Sakura asked.

"well, if one of you happened to not come, the others wouldn't be aloud into the exam, because you have to have a three-man-team to enter. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to pressure Sakura into entering."

All three nodded their heads.

"Good luck!" Kakashi said cheerily and disappeared.

The team walked to the door and opened it.

----

"So, how do you think your team will do?" Asuma asked. Kurenei sipped her tea. They were in the jonin lounge, and it was reasonably empty.

"My team is specialised in tracking and detecting, so I'm sure the second stage will be alright for them. There fighting is also quite good. They should do fine."

Asuma smirked.

"You're vey confident in them." He stated.

"And I have every reason to be. What about your team then?"

Asuma thought for a moment.

"They will also do fine. Their skills are good and with Shikamaru's mind the writing exam will be a piece of cake. What about you Kakashi?"

"Hmm, they should do quite well. Though Sakura has poor chakra reserves and is weak, she is smart and is good at noticing things… well, when she isn't fawning over Sasuke. I really wish she'd get out of that habit." He replied, before flipping a page of his book.

Kurenei looked at him curiously.

"What about the Naruto kid? Is he dangerous?"

Kakashi glanced at her, before looking back to his book.

"Have faith, Kurenei. I've worked with Naruto for quite some time now. If he showed any ill intent towards Konoha, I would know it. To be honest, he isn't very different from other children. He laughs, he plays, he's just like a normal child… with differences of course."

Asuma spoke up.

"I heard he could turn into a fox?"

Kakashi nodded.

"Hm, yes, he can. I was surprised too. He transformed into a large fox on the mission to Wave but it seems it takes a lot of chakra, even for him. He does change into a regular sized fox regularly."

"So he is no danger?" Kurenei asked.

"None." Kakashi replied slightly vehemently.

There was a pause of silence.

"I wonder how they are doing. Ibiki is the written exam's proctor." Asuma said.

Kurenei noticed that both men shuddered slightly.

"Why, who is he?"

"You wouldn't know him, you're new. Ibiki is the Head of Interrogation. He specialises in torture." Asuma said.

"Torture? They let him be proctor?!" she cried, horrified.

"Not physical," Kakashi said quickly. "mental. He knows the mind so well he can get even the most trained Shinobi to crack in less than an hour. Right now, he's probably carefully tricking the genin to actually give up and try for the next Chunin exams."

"Is he really that good?" she asked sceptically.

Nodding of heads was her only answer.

* * *

Done!!

Okay, I got this review on the last chapter, so I'd thought I'd show it to you and talk about it.

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_**StaplersBreak**_

Author notes are annoying in the middle of a story. How many novels have you read where the author is like 'oh by the way...blah, blah, blah'? Got something to say? Say it at the end.

----

Honestly, I'm not sure what to say. I personally like it when some of the notes are in the story because sometimes I forget about it and if it's at the end, then I have to scroll up and find it to see what they were talking about, but that's just me.

And of course authors aren't gonna write things in the middle of their books? It's a freakin book! I'm writing fanfiction! Gosh, you are so uptight; does it really ruin the whole experience of reading my story when you see an author's note in the middle of the chapter? Lighten up!

Now that I got that out, please tell me if you would rather me do what the guy above wants, after all, this story is for you to enjoy, and if the majority of people would rather it that way, I will change it.

**For some reason, some of the buttons on this site didn't work, like the review button and the favourite stories button on people's profiles. Was this the same for everyone? I couldn't even add my new chapter!**

**Review some more! Love the reviews, addicted, maybe unhealthily…**


	21. You Smell Bad!

**A/N: **Heh, yeah… sorry about the late update. I just haven't been in the mood to write lately. Anyhow, chapter 21 up!!!

The more I think about it, the more I see that the beginning chapters… are absolute crap!!! I tried fixing them, but… they're still crap!!!! One day I'll rewrite those chapters fully… one day.

By the way, the Bijuu references I make are to this picture.

**http: / / .net / fs49 / f / 2009 / 184 / 1 / 9 / Jinchuriki _ and _ Bijuu _ by _ blackbommer22 . jpg**

**Make sure you take out the spaces**, and if you are wondering why they are there, it's cause whenever you don't do that it deletes a part of it, which is really annoying, so I put spaces cause that's what I saw others doing.

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**You Smell Bad!**

"Wow…" Sakura mumbled. And indeed it was… wow. It was a large classroom-like room, with rows of chairs and benches. What really caught their attention were the numerous ninja that were leaning on the benches, on the walls, and just standing up. And it seemed they were all staring at the three genin, sizing them up and ultimately coming to the same conclusion: Nothing to worry about, at all.

"Naruto." Someone called. They turned to see a boy with his hair tied up like a pineapple leaning on the wall. Next to him was a rather chubby boy munching on a packet of chips.

"Hey Shikamaru!" Naruto said brightly and walked over to them, leaving his space beside Sasuke… which was soon filled with a blonde haired girl.

"Sasuke! You made it!" she screeched before glomping him. Sakura fumed.

"Ino-piiig!! What do you think you're doing!!!!" she yelled.

Ino just smirked at her. "What, jealous he likes me more than you, Forehead?"

"Excuse _me_!?" she said, and the two glared at each other in pure hate, ignoring an embarrassed Sasuke attempting to pry Ino off him. The rest of Team 10 plus Naruto joined them, looking at the crazy girls and almost looking at Sasuke in sympathy. Almost.

"N-Naruto." Naruto turned to see Hinata standing with her team, a boy in a large coat covering most of his face and dark sunglasses and another boy with a thick coat and some white thing on his head.

"Hi Hinata!" he said cheerily, and for some reason he didn't understand, she blushed and twiddled her forefingers. Her team walked closer, but suddenly an over-whelming stench entered Naruto's nose. It smelled… like…

"God, you _reek_ of dog!!" he said, pointing to Kiba. Meanwhile Kiba was busy gagging and holding his nose.

"Me??!!! You stink of fox!!"

"That's cause I am one, you-"

"You know, you should really keep it down." A stranger's voice sounded. The Rookie 9 turned to see an older man with grey hair and glasses.

"Why?" Ino asked, who was still attached to Sasuke's arm.

"I wouldn't go making a spectacle of yourselves. Just look around you."

The nine turned to look at the room, and realised that everyone was looking at them, with killer intent.

"They are all anxious about the exam," the stranger continued, "and here you rookies are, making a fool of yourselves."

"Who are you?" Sasuke asked, finally pushing Ino off himself.

"My name is Kabuto Yakushi. Konoha nin, see." He said and pointed to his head-band, which clearly showed the leaf insignia. "You are just rookies, you can't help it. You don't know hoe things work around here."

"So you've been here before?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, and as a matter of fact, this'll be my seventh time," Kabuto answered. That comment earned an attentive look from the lazy shogi player. "Well, they're held only twice a year, so this would make it my fourth year here."

"You know, I've been in this exam a few times, and this time I've gathered information on everyone in this room. Want any info on anyone in particular?"

There was a pause of silence.

"Alright than," Sasuke said. "What about Rock Lee (Lee Rock maybe but that doesn't sound right)."

"And Gaara of the Sand." Naruto said quickly, curious.

Kabuto just pulled out some blank cards. "So you already know their names, eh?" he said and put his hand over one. Soon words appeared.

"How did you do that?" Kiba asked.

"These cards are called chakra-encoded. They only reveal the information when you insert chakra into them. Ah, here we go. Rock Lee. He's about a year older than you guys. His taijutsu greatly improved in the past twelve months. For his mission experience, he has completed 11 C-rank and 20 D-rank missions. His jounin-sensei is Gai Maito and his teammates are Tenten and Hyuuga Neji"

"Next we have Gaara of the Sand," Kabuto stated as he pushed a bit of chakra to expose one of the Sand Siblings. "He comes from Sunagakure and is in your age group. For his mission experience, he has completed 8 C-rank missions and… 1 B-rank mission. It also says here that he always comes out of the missions unharmed."

The Rookie Nine looked at Kabuto with incredulity while Shikamaru spoke for the group. "No way… that guy's done a B-rank mission as a genin and came out without a scratch? That's impossible."

_I doubt it._ Naruto thought to himself. _Having a demon in you was a pretty good defence by itself, and it looked like he could control sand well, no doubt from Shukaku._

Kabuto went on to speak about how this year's crop of candidates would have a lot of potential, while disrespecting the Hidden Sound ninja at the same time. Said shinobi dashed through the crowd and attacked Kabuto.

One of the Sound-nin was a kunoichi with knee-length black hair and dark eyes. The second Sound-nin was a young man with dark, upturned, spiky hair and holes in his hands, who had just thrown two kunai in Kabuto's direction (in which the glasses-wearing shinobi promptly dodged).

The third ninja was wrapped up in bandages with only his left eye showing and had a sound cannon attached to his right arm, along with a furry cape on his back. It was the third shinobi that launched a blow in front of Kabuto's face, and even though it missed, the sound waves from the punch caused Kabuto's ears to ring as he vomited.

Sakura and Naruto ran to check on Kabuto when an explosion was heard in the front of the classroom.

"All right you baby-faced degenerates… pipe down and listen-up!"

Those in attendance turned face to see, emerging from the smoke, a dozen of chunin and jounin, and at the fore was an intimidating man with a scarf over his head with the Konoha symbol engraved on it. What made him terrifying were the two scars over his face and the tomblike look in his eyes.

"It's time to begin," said the man in the dark trench-coat. "I'm Ibiki Morino, your proctor for the first part of the exam. And from this moment…your worst enemy…"

----

Naruto took his seat next to Hinata (who had been blushing furiously) and two tables in front of Sakura. He smiled at her, flashing his teeth, and that caused her to blush even more, which confused him a little.

"Good luck." He whispered to her. She stuttered and replied with a "you too."

At the front, Ibiki tapped the board with a chalk. The proctors, except for Ibiki were sitting on chairs next to the windows with a clipboard each one.

"The first test has a few important rules. I will not accept questions, so listen carefully." Ibiki started. "First rule is you all are given 10 points at the start. The written test consists of 10 questions and each one worth one point. This test is a deduction based one. If you get one problem wrong, you will get one point deducted."

"Second rule. The pass-fail decision will be determined by your team's total points. There is a reason for this. Just shut up and listen. Now that you know, let's move on to the next rule. If an examiner determines that you cheated or did something similar during the test, each action will cause you to lose two points." A few people gasped at this.

"In other words, if you're caught five times you get a zero. Those who try to cheat without thinking carefully will only hurt themselves. You are all trying to become Chunin. If you're a ninja, act like a first rate one. Also, if anyone in the team gets a zero, _everyone in that team will fail_."

Almost everyone gasped at that.

"What did you say!?" Kiba shouted. Ibiki just ignored him and carried on.

"The last question will be given 45 minutes after the test begins. You have an hour for the test. Begin!"

Naruto just sighed and flipped the sheet on his desk over and read the first question.

_First question: The line B represents a shuriken maximum throwing distance of the enemy ninja, A, from a height of 7 meters. Figure out the trait of the enemy ninja that can be observed from the ellipse formed by the shuriken, and figure out the maximum throwing distance on a flat ground. Explain your reasoning._

Naruto stared at it. Foxes were smart. Really smart. But Naruto was never good at numbers! Demons don't need the knowledge of mathematics. Naruto stared at the question harder. He looked up to see Hinata using her Byakugan and copying someone else's work. _Hmm. Oh I know! Father was right, it is useful!_ He thought, before shifting his back a little to move his short swords and discreetly held out one finger. A small ball of red chakra appeared, before it disappeared again.

The invisible ball floated to one of the chunin acting as genin and floated onto his completed sheet, covering the surface. Than it floated back to Naruto and covered his own piece of paper, and showing the words onto the paper, and all Naruto had to do was copy it down. The trick was handy for when his father was teaching him about the other 9th class demons, or Bijuu, and his father would gather chakra, showing the image of the other eight. He still remembered seeing the Shichibi, freaky… He shuddered at the mental image. (-Look at author note at beginning-)

Suddenly a kunai was thrown at a guy's test, almost hitting Naruto as it pierced the air. The guy practically jumped out of his seat in surprise.

"What's the meaning of this?!" He asked angrily. One of the proctors smirked.

"You screwed up five times. You fail." The guy's jaw dropped. "Teammates of his get out of here."

It didn't take too long till other people start failing too.

"Number 23, fail."

"Numbers 43 and 27, fail."

"Number 59, fail."

"Numbers 33 and 9, fail."

"Number 41, fail."

"Numbers 35 and 62, fail."

_Everyone's being tossed out… Hehehe!_ Naruto thought.

"Excuse me." Kankuro said, lifting his hand. "I need to go to the bathroom…"

With that his hands were tied up and one of the proctors accompanied him to the bathroom.

Soon the minutes went by…

"Alrighty." Ibiki suddenly said. "I will now give the 10th question, but before that, there's one thing I must say." Ibiki continued. "There will be one special rule for this last question."

The door opened and Kankuro entered the room with an innocent look.

Ibiki's eyes narrowed at him. "You're lucky. Your puppet show didn't have to go to a waste. Oh, well. Sit down."

Kankuro walked back to his seat, while dropping a note onto Temari's desk.

"I will now explain. First, you're all going to choose if you wish to take this tenth problem or not."

"Choose?" Temari questioned. "So what happens if we don't take the tenth problem?"

"If you choose not to take it, your points will be reduced to zero. And there is the other rule. If you choose to take it and get it wrong… You will lose the privilege to take the Chunin Exam, forever."

"What?!" Some girl exclaimed. A lot of people in the room had the same reaction.

"What kind of dumb rule is that?!" Kiba asked, losing his patience. "There should be those who have taken the Chunin Exam in the past!"

Ibiki chuckled at the boy's reaction. "You were unlucky. This year, I am the rule. That's why I gave you the option of quitting. Those who are not confident can choose not to take it and take the Exam next year or the year after that. Let us begin. Those who are not taking this tenth question, raise your hands. After we confirm your numbers, we will have you leave."

_Oh, ha-ha, reverse psychology. This guy is evil, even to me! _Naruto thought. _I would love for him to teach me how to do this!_

A guy sitting beside Naruto lifted his hand.

"Number 50, fail." The proctor read. "Numbers 130 and 111 fail along with him."

"Me too!" Another person said standing up.

Soon the room was filled with people raising their hands, wanting to quit. In the end, only a few teams remained. Among them, the Rookie 9, Team Gai, Gaara's team and the Oto Team. No one else raised their hand. Ibiki looked around, with a seemingly dissatisfied look on his face.

"So, you guys really think you can answer this question?" Ibiki said. He was met with determined silence.

"Heh," he chuckled, a shadow hiding his eyes. "Very well. For the last question, everyone here… passes!"

The sound of several pencils dropped. Everyone stared at Ibiki with wide eyes.

Someone stood up. "Wait! What's the meaning of that? We pass already? What about the tenth question?"

Ibiki laughed. "There was no such thing to begin with. Or you can call the two-choice question the tenth question."

"Hey!" Temari complained. "So were those previous nine problems?! It was all a waste!"

"No, it's not. The nine problems accomplished their purpose. The purpose to test each one's individual's information gathering skills."

Temari frowned. "Information gathering skills?"

"First, this test's purpose lies in the first rule. Your pass-fail decision is based on your teams. By giving that idea, we have given you an unprecedented amount of pressure to try and not be a nuisance to your team."

"But these test problems cannot be solved by you, Genins. So, most of the people here must've come to the conclusion that you had to cheat to get points. In other words, this test assumed that everyone was going to cheat. So, we snuck in a few Chunin who knew the answers to be targets of cheating."

"But those who just cheated like a fool failed, of course." Ibiki continued. "Why? Information can have a greater value than life at times, and in missions and battlefields information is contested with the lives of people. The information that an enemy gets after being noticed by a third person will not necessarily be accurate. Remember this. Getting incorrect information can cause great damage to your teammates and village. So, we made you all gather information in the form of cheating. We kicked out those who were lacking in that field. That's what went on."

"But I still can't agree to that last question…" Temari insisted.

"But this tenth question was the main question of the first phase. The tenth question was a "take or not take" choice. Needless to say, it was a painful two-choice problem. Those who did not take it failed with their teams. If you chose to take it and could not answer it, your right to take the exam would have been taken away forever. It was a very insincere problem."

"Those who cannot bet their fate in a critical situation, those who give up when given the chance because there is a next year, and let their minds sway over an uncertain future… fools that carry a light determination like that have no right to become Chunin. I'm saying that you here who have chosen to take it gave the right answer for the difficult tenth question. You can deal with the difficulties you will face. You have broken through the entrance. The first phase of the Chunin Exam ends now. I wish you luck."

Many were awed by the great speech, but it was quickly shattered… literally. The window to their left exploded. Kunai were trapped on the ceiling, lifting a big red flag with something, I don't know what, written in kanji on it. The flag was positioned in front of Ibiki, so we couldn't see him anymore. A grinning purple haired woman wearing Konoha's headband on her forehead stood in front of it.

"Heads up boys and girls! This is no time to be celebrating!" She announced. "I'm going to be your next proctor! Anko Mitarashi!" She glared fiercely at everyone, "Ready for the second test?!" She raised her fist in the air. "Good! Then let's go! Follow me!!"

Nobody moved, for they were still too stunned by the stunt she just pulled. She sweat-dropped.

"You're early…again" Ibiki said, coming out from behind the flag.

Anko blushed in embarrassment before examining the room.

"72? Ibiki, you let 24 teams pass? The first phase must have been too soft!"

"It looks like there are a lot of excellent students this time."

"Oh, well… I'm going to make more than half of the teams fail the next phase."

"Fail more than half?" Sakura gasped.

Anko smirked evilly. "I will explain the details later. Meet me at training ground 44, and I suppose you should come prepared. Ask your jounin instructor for the time. That's all, dismissed!"

_**

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A/N**_: I know it's late! So sorry, but I've been reading so many amazing fics! Like **Dancing with Demons **by** Daystar Clarion. **Read it! It's good! And I've also started **For the Love of my Friends **by **Foxie-sama**. That's good too, well I'm still only on the 3rd chapter, it's quite long… Anyway, until next time!!

Thanks for all those who like this story and special thanks for those who reviewed! I'm sorry to those who don't like it, I'm not a very good writer am I...


	22. Humans and Tongues

**A/N:** Okay so I've had a poll on my profile, asking what should happen when Naruto meets Orochimaru, and from the results, Sasuke **will** get the mark and go to Orochimaru and Naruto will fight Orochimaru, hurting him quite a lot but not too much because he is a sannin, even if Naruto's a demon.

Thank you for all the reviews!!

* * *

**Humans and Tongues**

"Wha-what is this place...?" Sakura asked astonished. Team 7 and all the rest of the passing candidates stood in front of a forest. Not any forest however. You could hardly see inside from the darkness, and the only colours were green, brown, grey and more green. The trees were as big as houses, and the leaves shaking in the wind made an ominous sound that seemed to want to lure anything into a deadly trap. And to top it off, there was a large fence encircling the area, with a large sign saying '**Forbidden Area**'.

"Welcome to the Forest of Death," Anko said, stepping in front of the Genin. _Great, _Naruto thought. _Even the name is creepy._

"Forest of Death?" Naruto repeated.

"Sounds welcoming," Sakura muttered, running her hand in her hair. She sensed something and looked past Sasuke. On the ground was a... square rock?

Naruto looked at the 'rock' too, eye twitching.

"Is that supposed to be rock?"

Naruto started walking. The rock followed. Naruto stopped. The rock stopped. Naruto began to run back and forth, faster and faster. The rock ran after Naruto, just as fast. After a moment Naruto stopped and rounded on the rock that had also stopped. Naruto pointed a finger at the rock.

"Hey Konohamaru! Come out! What do you think you're doing? Even a human baby would know that's not a rock!"

"Good job detecting me boss, I should have suspected." In a flash of light and a puff of smoke, the 'rock' was gone. In its place it revealed three children, coughing.

"Ugh, too much smoke." Konohamaru spluttered out.

"Sorry." Udon replied.

The three stopped coughing and started their introductions.

"The one who possesses the sex appeal of an adult and the female ninja from the group, Moegi!"

"The one who loves dividing math, Udon!"

"The village's number one genius ninja, Konohamaru!"

The three forms together in a group pose. "And together, we make the 'Konohamaru Ninja Squad'!"

"What do you three want?" Naruto asked, one hand scratching his head. "We're about to take the second part of the Chunin Exam, I don't have time to play with you."

"We didn't come here to play! We're on official business," Konohamaru said.

"Business?" Naruto asked, tilting his head slightly to the left.

"We're here for an interview for the school newspaper," Konohamaru explained, his two friends nodded from behind him.

"Hey, what's going on here?" Anko walked over to the group.

"Apparently Konohamaru is doing an interview for the school newspaper," Naruto said.

"Huh? Oooh," Anko put her hand behind her head laughing. "Yes I forgot, the Hokage did mention something about that."

Everyone sweat dropped. "Forgot...?"

"Alright! We will be taking a ten minute break! We will resume afterwards!" Anko announced.

Sakura sat on the grass, Sasuke sitting against a large rock. They watched Naruto talking to the young reporters several feet away.

"Alright, so I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I'm, of course, a ninja of the Hidden Village of Konoha. My hobby, uh, pulling pranks is always fun!! I love ramen and became a Genin just recently." Naruto said to them. The Konohamaru ninja squad were furiously writing down everything he said.

"What about your teammates?" Konohamaru asked, excited.

Naruto tapped his chin. "Well… Sasuke Uchiha, last of the Uchiha Clan is an emo bastard that likes to brood all day. He thinks he's all that! Sakura Haruno is a Sasuke fangirl and constantly asking him for dates, but she is okay sometimes, and I guess Sasuke can be okay sometimes too. And Kakashi-sensei… is perverted. He is also late to everything by two hours and you always see his nose stuck inside a certain book that's a little too old for you right now. But he's a good sensei, and one of the best ninja in Konoha."

They looked at him in awe.

"So our job is to do missions and stuff, though the D-ranks are more like chores. Now go interview someone else."

"Right!" they chorused and scampered off… towards his two teammates.

"Oi, I just told you about them!!" Naruto shouted and walked after them. He stopped to hear what they said.

"Excuse me," Moegi walked over to Sakura. "Sakura, you are the kunoichi I admire most, mind if I interview you?"

"No! I want to interview her!" Konohamaru exclaimed, stepping up beside her. Sakura sweat-dropped. Konohamaru took her hand and pulled her over to another tree. Sasuke's eyes followed her curiously. She leaned against the tree trunk as Konohamaru began his interview.

"Well, I'm Sakura Haruno, the only ninja in my family. I'm a part of Kakashi Hatake's team. Team 7. Sasuke is so cool! He's such a good ninja, and one day I'm gonna marry him, and prove to Ino-pig the he loves me and that LOVE WILL PREVAIL!!!"

Konohamaru scribbled it all down, mumbling the words and etching 'LOVE WILL PREVAIL' boldly into the paper.

Sasuke had moved himself further from his group, pretending he was part of a different squad. Udon walked over to Sasuke.

"You're Uchiha Sasuke! I want to be just like you when I'm older! Can I get an interview with you?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I guess someone has to set the stories straight."

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. My team consists of the jounin Kakashi Hatake, Uzumaki Naruto, and Sakura Haruno. I contain the most skill on this team."

Naruto twitched at the last comment.

"Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, Ino Yamanaka of Squad 10. Hinata Hyuuga, Kiba Inuzuka with Akamaru, and Shino Aburame of Squad 8. Each one has their own unique talent…but I'm still better than all of them combined."

"Aw Sasuke, and here I thought you were gonna set some stories straight." Naruto butted in.

Sasuke just 'hn'ed.

"Well thanks for the interviews boss!" Konohamaru shouted, and all three academy students disappeared in a puff of smoke. Or rather, they threw smoke bombs so they could run off.

----

"T-This is a scary pl-place..." Hinata squeaked as everyone was once again assembled in a large group in front of the forest.

Anko grinned as she stared at everyone. "Once inside you will all be able to experience why this place is called the Forest of Death."

"Ooh, scary…" muttered Naruto, but it was heard. Anko whipped out a kunai and threw it, causing Naruto to flinch out of the way, but not fast enough. She then appeared behind him, hugging him and licking the blood oozing out of the cut.

"It's boys like you that die first. After spilling the red blood I love all over the place." Anko said sadistically while Naruto made funny faces at her for licking him. Anko suddenly tensed and whipped out another kunai, but stopped as a genin from Grass handed back her kunai… with his tongue. _What is it with humans and tongues? _Naruto thought. Then, _Jeez, they both smell like snakes!_

Anko just smiled, accepting her kunai back. "Thank you." Anko said with a smile as she took her kunai from the ninja. The grass nin's tongue flew back into his mouth. "But don't stand behind me like that; unless you want to die young."

"My apologies. I got excited at the sight of blood. And you cut my hair." the ninja spoke. The grass ninja smiled and began to walk away.

"Well, it looks like we have some very hot-headed candidates this year," Anko spoke with a smirk. "This is going to be interesting."

Naruto glared up at Anko, hand over his wound which had pretty much healed up already. "You're the most hot-headed person here… crazy lady... and they say Shukaku was mental…" he mumbled at the end.

Anko walked back to the fence and faced everyone.

"Now, before we start the second exam, I'm going to pass these out to everyone," Anko reached into her long coat and pulled out a stack of papers. 'CONSENT FORM' it read on the top. Anko handed it to someone who took a sheet and pass it along.

"If you are going to take this exam, you must sign these."

"Why?" Naruto asked, obviously not having read his form.

Anko smiled. "Just so we have your consent that if you die it is not our fault."

Naruto twitched and the colour drained from many of the genin's faces.

"Now, you will all be going through this extreme survival match."

"A survival match eh? What a drag..." Shikamaru yawned.

"First," Anko unravelled a map of the Forest of Death. "I'll explain the training area's geographical features. This forest has 44 locked gate entrances all around the area. There's a river, a forest and a tower in the middle. The tower is approximately 10 Km from the gate entrances. Inside this limited space you will have to go through a difficult survival program."

"Survival program?" Ino questioned.

"The survival program where anything goes." Anko put the map away and pulled out two scrolls. One was a cream colour with the symbol of Heaven written on it. The other was black with the symbol for Earth written on it.

"Scrolls?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, you will be fighting for these scrolls," Anko held out the cream-coloured scroll. "The scroll of heaven." she held up the black one. "The scroll of earth. 26 teams passed the first exam. Half of those teams will receive a Scroll of Heaven. The other half will get the Scroll of Earth. Each team will start out with either one of these. You must fight over them."

"What's needed to pass?" Sasuke asked.

"Bring the Scroll of Heaven and Earth to the tower with your teammates," Anko answered.

"Okay, so say my team starts out with the Scroll of Heaven. We have to keep that safe and in our possession and then we have to fight a team to obtain their Scroll of Earth? Then make it to the tower with our team?" Sakura asked.

"That's correct. You must have both scrolls and your whole team must make it to the tower," Anko confirmed.

"So this guarantees half of the candidates will be wiped out..." Sakura sighed.

"And this all has to happen in a time limit. The second exams lasts a limit of 120 hours," Anko said.

Everyone's jaw dropped. "A whole five days in there!?"

"But what about food!?" Choji panicked.

"The Forest will provide you with everything you need," Anko responded.

"But there are a lot of man-eating beasts, poison bug and poisonous plants," Kabuto informed.

"So it's not possible for all 13 teams to pass." Neji informed.

"As time passes, you will be required to move more and more," Lee said. "So your time of rest will be shorter and shorter."

"And we're surrounded by enemies. We won't be able to sleep in peace." Sasuke realized.

"People will get hurt in the process of fighting over a scroll as well." Anko stated.

"Can we quit in-between?" Shikamaru asked.

"Once you are in the forest, you must be in there for the duration of the time." Anko answered.

"Just as I thought," Shikamaru complained, arms crossed. "How troublesome."

"While were on the topic, here are the conditions that will fail you. First," Anko held up a finger. "A team who cannot bring both scrolls to the tower with all their teammates will fail. Second, a team that loses a teammate or produces an unrecoverable teammate will fail. Also, just as a note, you are not allowed to look inside the scrolls until you reach the tower. "

"What happens if we look?" Naruto asked.

"That's a surprise to whoever dares to peek," Anko said with a sly grin. "If you become a Chunin, you will be handling top secret documents. It's to determine your reliability. That's all I will say. We will exchange your consent forms for your team scroll and then you will pick a gate to enter through. Everyone will get a ten minute recess and then we will all begin at the same time." Anko looked up at all the candidates,

"And one last piece of advice... don't die!" This scared Sakura and many others.

"D-don't die?! Is it really that dangerous??" A genin from the crowd stuttered.

Anko just closed her eyes and turned around.

"Heh, you have no idea…" she smirked.

----

GATE 12

It was reasonably quite, except for Sakura who kept fidgeting worriedly. But Naruto didn't really mind going into the forest. He used to live in a forest somewhere in Fire Country, away from civilization. Usually any animals would stay away from him, and the foxes would greet him and offer food to him…

GATE 27

"It's troublesome but we have to put our life on the line for this," Shikamaru said.

Choji rummaged through his backpack.

"Let's what I have... potato chips, cake..."

Ino twitched as she watched her teammate count off all the food he had packed.

GATE 20

"The time has come... to accomplish our task." Dosu spoke underneath the bandages covering his face.

Zaku and Kin smirked.

GATE 38

Kabuto smirked, his two teammates eagerly waiting behind him.

GATE 6

"Don't take this too far Gaara," Kankuro warned.

Gaara remained silent and Temari sighed.

GATE 15

"So we're going after the rookies first, right?" a grass-nin asked, looking at his team members. The grass-nin from earlier smirked.

"It seems we can kill them here, it will become easier."

GATE 41

"Gai-sensei! I will get through this! Watch me!" Lee exclaimed in his head, fire in his eyes. Neji and Tenten smirked.

The team watched the Chunin unlock the gate. It was a long 30 seconds before everyone heard Anko announce,

"We will now begin the second exam of the Chunin Exams!" Everyone burst through the gates, taking a running start.

**

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A/N: **Aa, this one was a little shorter than the last one, sorry. Two reasons why this is late…

One: I've recently gotten into The Prince of Tennis. The manga style pictures aren't favourable, but the anime rocks! But not the English dubbed ones, cause let's face it, most anime with English voices suck, like Naruto's voice sounds like a cheese grater!

Two: I'd used all my internet, and when that happens you can't review, upload or add anything. You can't even vote on a poll!

Thank you for all the reviews! Tell me what you think about the story and have a nice day!


	23. Wait, Kuki chan?

Wow, Prince of Tennis rocks!! I really recommend it. I know what you're thinking… _I don't even like tennis? _Well me neither until I started watching it on YouTube. I've read some of the manga, but to be honest, the drawing style isn't my cup of tea, but the anime rocks! Gah, sorry for talking about it so much, it just excites me so much!!!!

Anyway… to the next chapter!

* * *

**Wait, Kuki-chan?**

Three ninja stopped on a large tree branch as they watched three rookies. They remained silent as they listened.

"First of all, everyone is going towards the tower, right?" Kiba's voice sounded through the clearing. "That means it would be smart to set traps in the vicinity of the tower."

It was silent a moment after Akamaru barked. Kiba smirked. "Hear that? Looks like we've got one already..."

"Where are they?" Shino asked in his quiet voice and expressionless face.

One of the ninjas listening, a rain nin, smirked. "They're just kids. They're in the open, they're just begging for an attack."

"They've found out our presence..." one of the ninja spoke.

The last team member smirked. "They have not found our location."

All of a sudden the first ninja turned blue. Weird sounds came from him, making his teammates worry.

"W-what's wrong? And what's in your shirt!?" The team members watched as a large bump moved up the ninja's coat and stay by the neck. The hood fell to reveal a large, black, obviously feeding leech.

"W-what is that!?" the ninjas shouted.

As soon as he said that, leeches the size of cats rained down. It wasn't long at all before the leeches completely covered the ninjas' bodies, sucking the blood, and life from them. Back in the clearing Shino watched the killing reflected in his black glasses.

Anko, standing outside of the forest, smirked and cackled loudly.

Team seven stopped walking.

"Sounds like someone got hurt." Sakura whispered.

The team looked backwards. A large flock of birds took off from a section of the forest to their right.

"As long as it doesn't interfere with surviving..." Sasuke shrugged before continuing on.

… and on.

… and on.

"You know, if we don't run into a team soon, we are never gonna get a scroll," Naruto remarked. It had been more than five hours, and it was getting dark in the forest.

"Right, we should set up camp and a few traps then," Sasuke answered, and they found a clearing to settle for the night.

**Three days later… Two days till deadline.**

_We either have extremely good luck, or we have the worst luck, ever._ Naruto thought as he fingered his sword's handle. Throughout there journey, they had only met two teams, and all of them sucked at fighting. Unfortunately, neither had the scroll they needed either, so when they snatched it from the team, they stored it away in Sakura's pouch. So now they had three earth scrolls. (I think it was meant to be earth…)

Sakura had her face screwed in thought, and then said aloud, "Sasuke-kun, don't you think it would be a good idea to have, I dunno, some password, in case we get separated. We've been quite lucky, and it feels like something big is going to happen soon…"

Sasuke paused. "Yes, that would be a good idea."

They sat down in a circle on the dirt ground, thinking it over. Sasuke was the first to think of it.

"Alright, I'll only say this once, so listen carefully. The question will be: 'When does a ninja strike?' And the response is: 'A ninja waits until the time is right. When the enemy sleeps and drops his guard. When his weapons lie forgotten in the stillness of the night. _That_ is the moment for a ninja to strike' Got it?"

They both nodded, and Naruto tilted his head slightly to the left.

_Although, a good ninja never let's his guard down, so if a ninja attacks another ninja who's sleeping, he might aswell have attacked him when he was awake, no? Bah, ahh well…_

"I'll keep the scroll," Sasuke said as he stood up.

"But Sasuke," Naruto whined as he and Sakura got up, "I want to have the scroll now."

Before they could argue any further, they heard an extremely high-pitched noise. They turned heads in the direction it had come.

"What was that?"

Out of nowhere, a windstorm came towards them, blowing them completely away. After the extremely suspicious wind subsided, Sakura gingerly stood up, and spotted Sasuke a little ways off.

Sasuke noticed her approaching and took out his kunai. "Stay there. When does a ninja strike?"

Sakura smiled confidently. "'A ninja waits until the time is right. When the enemy sleeps and drops his guard. When his weapons lie forgotten in the stillness of the night. _That_ is the moment for a ninja to strike."

Sasuke lowered his kunai and nodded to her.

She sighed in relief, "And I have no doubt that you're Sasuke…where's Naruto?"

"Hey everyone! Are you guys okay?" Naruto came running up to them.

"Naruto! Wait!" Sakura halted Naruto with an outstretched arm. "Password?"

Naruto stopped with a grin on his face. "A ninja waits until the time is right. When the enemy sleeps and drops his guard. When his weapons lie forgotten in the stillness of the night. _That_ is the moment for a ninja to strike."

Sasuke threw a kunai at Naruto, which Naruto jumped to his left and fell to the ground to dodge.

"Hey! What the hell Sasuke!?" Naruto shouted.

"So this time we have someone good enough to dodge an attack..." Sasuke said.

"So how did you know?" The imposter asked.

"We knew you were listening from underground, where you could hear us but couldn't see us, so part of the password was to tap our forehead at the word _that_. You were tricked," Sasuke finished with a smirk.

The imposter's astonished expression turned into a sly grin. His tongue appeared, running over his lips in a hungry manner.

"I see, you are a cunning one, Sasuke." In a large blast of smoke, the grass ninja girl appeared, straw hat slightly tilted over her face. The ninja removed her hat with a sinister smile. "You never let your guard down, do you?"

Sasuke's eyes hardened.

The girl chuckled. "It looks like I can have more fun than I expected..." she licked her lips again, the long tongue reaching past her face.

Sasuke glared at the rain nin.

----

"Ouch..." Naruto moaned, managing to flip himself in the right position. Naruto got to his knees and looked around. His teammates were nowhere to be found. _Damn, that wind was powerful! Definitely a jutsu, even an idiot would know that!_

He was about to head back to where he came from when he heard something big rustling behind him. He spun around, and stared as the body of and seriously humongous snake towered over him.

He blinked.

The snake flicked out its tongue in a menacing way.

He blinked again, hard. And, in a rather hesitant voice…

"Kuki-chan???"

The snake froze, forked tongue still in the air. It seemed as though a few minutes passed, when the snake suddenly broke out of its stupor and bowed rapidly to the small boy.

"Kitsuna-sama!!**(1)** M-my greatest apologies! I did not realise I was in your presence! I'm so sorry, please forgive me!" She squeaked.

Naruto blinked in surprise and quickly moved forward. "What are you talking about, Kuki-chan? Why, it was only 20 years ago when my father took me to the summoning world and met you! Gosh, you sure have grown! I remember when you were as small as a shrub, and now look at you! By the way, my name's Naruto now. I recognised you as soon as I felt your chakra, after all, it is so unique and I would never forget it!"

If snakes could blush, Kuki would be beet red. _Bad, bad! He's a demon prince, and you are just a summoning animal! But I can dream…_

"Thank you Naruto-sama! You are too merciful. Gah, and I was going to eat you!"

Naruto laughed at the image, and soon Kuki joined him.

"Hah, that reminds me of when you first met me!"

_**-- Flashback! -- **_**(Please note I haven't seen the summoning world before, if it even showed in the Shippuden, but this is my take on it.)**

_Kitsuna looked around excitedly, admiring the beautiful colours that surrounded him. Unlike the real world, this one was a place of relative peace, and seemed most fitting as a paradise. Contrary to what Kitsuna thought, where he imagined all the summons would be in their own summoning groups, the lowly summons in one place, the medium summons in another, and the main summons to be living in royalty or something._

_What actually met him, even though the summons did seem to hang out mostly with their own species, they all mingled and lived in the same place, albeit, a very, large, place. And another thing that seemed to stump him. The ground. It was completely flat._

_Well, not in the sense that it was smooth, but in the fact that the summoning world, was not a planet, and it was… flat. No curviness on the horizon, at all._

_What was even worse was the fact that there was no sun. It was still a blue sky, but you could look anywhere and everywhere, and the sun never glared in your eyes, because there was, actually, no sun to see. It left him wondering where all the light came from then. He couldn't find the light source anywhere, and the nonexistent shadows weren't any help. _

_Well, he wouldn't think about it. The summons, all shapes and sizes (some larger than small trees and others smaller than a flower) was an almost hypnotic change compared to his rather dull life in a forest._

"_Are you focusing?"_

_Kitsuna glanced towards his father, who had changed into his human form. He couldn't be a fox because a) His tails were very powerful, and one accidental sweep could blow the summons away, b) It would attract too much attention and c) He got to wear cool clothes. He was currently wearing a red and black attire with a large, red sword that he hardly ever used._

_Kitsuna was six years old and his shoulder was as high as his father's human shoulder height. His single tail flicked behind him._

"_Sure, father. So who was it we were meeting?"_

_The Kyuubi and King of Bijuu inclined his head at the question and smiled daintily._

"_You should not make a habit of forgetting important names, son." he chided in a soft voice. Kitsuna flattened his ears a notch._

"_I do have a good memory! It's just that I've gotten distracted and forgotten them…" Kitsuna replied._

_The Kyuubi gave him a strange look, before chuckling heartily, his flowing red hair dancing._

_By now, a few of the wiser summons had noticed their presence. Their chakra was suppressed, but they were large enough to still be felt. One summon, a crane, met them and bowed. The crane had obviously been informed of their arrival._

"_Kyuubi-sama, Kitsuna-sama, we are honoured to be in your presence. Please follow me," the crane said with a rather feminine voice._

_They were led to an extremely tall stone wall, that bordered what was definitely a large ground behind it. (big enough to hold lots of summons the size of Gamabunta) with two tiger summons guarding an equally large grey door, or arch, for lack of better term. The tigers bowed, and stepped aside, and the massive doors that looked extremely heavy slid inwards and open. Inside, the ground was covered in luscious green grass, much like outside, but here there was also a small creek funning through, and also many summons milling around. But there were only three different summons here._

_Slugs, snakes, and toads._

_There was another enclosed area at the back, this time with a large archway and no doors. They were led there, and walked through a short passageway into light again, and immediately met three of the largest summons. A large red toad (only one with clothes) sat in the middle, and to its left a large white and blue slug, and to its right a large purple and black snake with its body curled up on the floor._

_All three bowed._

"_Kyuubi-sama, it has been a while," the toad said._

"_Indeed it has, Gamabunta-sama. I hope you are all well," he replied. The summons nodded their head._

"_Ssaa, and this is your son?" the snake said._

"_Yes, he is Kitsuna."_

"_Hhmm, he has great potential," he said, before turning towards the small fox, "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Manda."_

_Kitsuna bowed his head. The slug slithered forward a bit._

"_Hello Kitsuna-sama," she spoke in a feminine voice, "I am Katsuyu, queen of the slug summons." _

"_I am Gamabunta, boss of the toad summons. It is a pleasure to meet you."_

_The Kyuubi held out his hands._

"_My gift to you."_

_Red chakra swirled, and a large scroll appeared, he put it vertically on to the ground. He repeated this two more times, so three scrolls stood in front of him._

_A few large black beetles came from behind the three summons, grasping the scrolls in their mandibles and taking them back into the building._

"_Our gift to you," Gamabunta said, and from behind, and lizard crawled out, a box on its back. The lizard made its way to the pair. The Kyuubi bent down and opened the box, bringing out a large, gold necklace with black beads. The lizards bowed before heading back._

"_It will completely conceal your chakra when you want it too, so as to not allow you to be detected," Manda said._

_The Kyuubi put it on, and in a swirl of chakra, grew to his true form. Kitsuna thought the necklace would break immediately, but to his surprise, it grew with him, not hanging comfortably on the large fox's neck. The nine tails swished contentedly behind. Soon the fox disappeared, and his human form stood there once more. He bowed to the summons. _

"_Thank you. We shall leave now."_

_A shriek of laughter sounded behind, and they turned to see a small snake slithering out of the walkway, quickly followed by a medium sized snake. The little snake took one look at Kitsuna before leaping at him with a loud cry of "FOOD!"_

_The little snakes attack was instantly stopped by a large purple and black tail, belonging to Manda. The snake slammed into the hard skin, before slipping heavily onto the floor. It raised itself again, shaking its head._

_The larger snake finally caught up, panting heavily. "I-I'm so sorry! Please forgive her! Kuki-chan! What did I say about running off?!"_

_Manda brought his tail back and formally bowed to Kitsuna._

"_My apologies. Some of my snakes are very young and don't know better."_

_Kitsuna just smiled, "It's okay. Though I've never been called food before…" The Kyuubi smiled too, and quickly took his hand of the hilt of his sword._

"_But you are food!" the little snake known as Kuki shouted, and was met with a loud "Kuki-chan!" from the older snake._

"_But daddy, you said foxes are tasty treats!"_

"_Mortal foxes! Can't you see this is a demon fox?"_

_Kuki squinted at Kitsuna for a while, before announcing loudly, "He doesn't look so tough!"_

_This was met with a lot of raised brows and a few chuckles from the two demons._

"_Well I'm tougher than you!" Kitsuna said._

"_Yeah right! I could beat you in a fight anytime!" Kuki argued back._

"_I'd like to se-"_

"_Kitsuna, enough. We are leaving now." The Kyuubi interrupted. Kitsuna laughed, and followed his father, but not before showing his pearly whites to the small pouting snake._

"_Bye Kuki-_chan_!"_

_Kuki hissed angrily back at him. "I'll get you someday, when I'm as big as a house!"_

"_I'll be waiting!" Kitsuna replied back, before disappearing into the hallway._

_**-- End Flashback! – (Long, I know…)**_

They both laughed at that memory.

"I never got to see you again! How are you?" Naruto asked.

"I have been very well, thank you. After you had left, Father and Lord Manda had a long talk with me and put me on cleaning duty for a week as punishment!"

Naruto laughed loudly at that. Then suddenly remembered.

"What are you doing here anyway?"

Kuki stopped, and then remembered. "Lord Orochimaru summoned me to eat you so he could fight the Uchiha boy…"

"Huh, haven't heard of this Orochimaru… I guess we should find them, do you mind helping?

Kuki shook her head furiously. "Not at all, Naruto-sama! It would be my pleasure after nearly eating you!"

Naruto grinned before leaping onto her head, and they were off!

**

* * *

(1): This was his temporary name for his first five years alive. I hope Kitsuna doesn't sound too feminine.**

**Can anyone tell me whether Manda is the king of snakes? I researched and it only said he was the main summon of Orochimaru?**

_**--**_** If you are curious to know what was in the scrolls, it was jutsu. You can pick what jutsu though.**

**Wow, that is probably my longest chapter yet! Anyway, please review! It encourages me to make updates faster!!**


	24. Beware of Evil Snake Lady!

A/N: Damn this is late!!! I'm sorry for being so lazy!

This chapter is up!!

**I'm sorry for the humour in this chapter, I was just feeling so happy!!!!!**

**If you don't like this style, you can stop reading for all I care…

* * *

**

**Beware of Evil Snake Lady?!**

_**Last time…**_

_The girl chuckled. "It looks like I can have more fun than I expected..." she licked her lips again, the long tongue reaching past her face._

_Sasuke glared at the rain nin._

_-_

"_Huh, haven't heard of this Orochimaru… I guess we should find them, do you mind helping?_

_Kuki shook her head furiously. "Not at all, Naruto-sama! It would be my pleasure after nearly eating you!"_

_Naruto grinned before leaping onto her head, and they were off!_

-------

Behind a thick tree, Sasuke looked out at the rain ninja. Sakura sat beside him, staring at the kunai in Sasuke's leg. Sasuke breathed heavily, glancing down at his leg as well.

The ninja smiled. "Very good Sasuke."

"Sasuke-kun we-" Sakura began but Sasuke placed his hand over her mouth, still watching the grass ninja.

Sakura's eyes widened when she noticed a shadow loomed over them. She moved Sasuke's hand from her mouth and yelled, "SNAKE!"

Sasuke looked to his left where a huge snake lunged at them. Sasuke let out a yell and he and Sakura jumped away.

The snake lashed out at Sasuke again but he jumped away again. Sasuke's eyes widened in horror as the snake's face turned into the face of the girl for a split second.

"Don't go near me!" Sasuke yelled in terror, throwing shuriken at the snake.

The snake shrieked in pain and its head fell on a tree trunk, blood pouring from its mouth. Sasuke landed on another tree branch, panting.

"You can't let your guard down even for a second, Sasuke," the ninja spoke. "Prey always needs to be on the lookout for their predators."

Sasuke's eyes widened as the snake's body cracked open and out came the grass ninja.

"This is going to be fun," she said as the grass nin's neck shot out to Sasuke, but the neck was reeled back rudely when a huge body of another snake shot out in front of it.

"Yo, Evil Snake Dude with Freakishly Long Neck!" Naruto shouted, and everyone stared at the boy atop of a large snake's head. Naruto grinned.

"Be awed by my prowess!"**(1)** **(Sour Snakes for those who know where this is from!) **He said and put his hands on his hips and smiled, making his tooth shine in the nearly nonexistent light. The smile dimmed when he examined the grass nin carefully, then gave a loud cry and stomped his feet, which meant stomping poor snakey.

"WHAT THE HELL, KUKI-CHAN?! I THOUGHT THIS 'LORD OROCHIMARU' WAS A GUY! This is CLEARLY NOT a dude! Unless your 'Lord Orochimaru' has abnormally large man-boobs I have the right to call your 'Lord Orochimaru'… Lady Orochimaru."

_Lady _Orochimaru growled and twitched.

"What is the meaning of this intrusion?!" Orochimaru shouted, "Well, minion? Why have you not already eaten this brat?!" he shouted to Kuki.

Kuki gasped in mock horror.

"EAT?! How dare you!!!!!! How could you not know your own minion was a _**vegetarian**_?!!!!"

"Wow Kuki-chan! When did you decide that?!"

"Well it all started five years ago…"

"ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Everyone blinked at the fuming Orochimaru.

"Minion! You will pay with your life for this treachery!" he hissed and clicked his fingers. A second snake as big (possibly bigger) appeared from the side somewhere and hissed at Kuki and her demon friend. This time, Naruto had no clue who the snake was, and realised that he was in a bad position. He shifted. Okay, now he wasn't.

Naruto jumped off as the two monster sized snakes charged. The snakes went somewhere to fight, leaving Orochimaru on one branch, Sasuke on another, and Naruto on yet another, forming a nice isosceles triangle for all those wannabe mathematicians out there. The distance between Naruto and the other two were the same, but the distance between Orochimaru and Sasuke was shorter, kapeesh?

Oh, and Sakura was on the ground somewhere.

Naruto pointed at Orochimaru. "Right then, Miss Oro-chan! I'll be dropping the formalities, so you and me, right now! Come on!"

Before Orochimaru could respond, a loud hey sounded. Sasuke was holding his scroll.

"I'll give you this, and you leave us alone," he said before chucking it to Orochimaru, who eyed it lovingly, his eyes glistening with unshed tears, his arms outstretched to catch the falling star–"

A black and red blur halted his dreaming, and he coughed and blushed, but no-one could see because he was wearing the face of a dead girl… anyone else realise just how sick that is?

Naruto fingered the scroll, before turning angrily to Sasuke.

"What the hell is your problem?! Giving the scroll to him before I even get to fight him!"

"He's too strong! If we don't give him the scroll, he'll kill us!"

"And you think that just because he gets a lousy scroll he'll let us go?

Sasuke opened his mouth to retort but a creepy chuckle filled the area.

"Kuukukukukukuuuuuu. Quite the bright one I see. Though that is to be expected from a fox demon, renowned for their intelligence."

("_Who me?_" _chibi Naruto smiles then trips on his shoelaces cause he never learnt to tie them.)_

"You will be my prize in a future time, but right now, my only goal… is Sasuke's body."

("_Wow Sasuke, you're so cool, even a female paedophile is after you're duck-butted head!!_" _chibi Naruto shouts.)_

"Right, enough of the humour. Sasuke, stay out of my way, I'm gonna teach you how to not be a coward," Naruto said and pulled out his swords, spinning them quickly before gripping them tightly and charging.

Slice. Swipe. Jab. Jab. Slice. Slice. Slice. Naruto growled in annoyance as his opponent sneakily dodged all of his attacks. Orochimaru smiled as he ducked a head jab.

"For a demon, you aren't very stro-" his word was cut short when a slice, that was supposed to be a miss, actually cut him on his forehead. He looked at the smirking Naruto, then at the swords that seemed to be floating a distance away from his hands with a mist of red chakra connecting them.

"Hoohoo, impressive. Where did you get those swords from?"

"It was a present."

Orochimaru chuckled again before putting his hand on his face. Naruto's jaw dropped as he witnessed him literally ripping his face off. There was a face underneath it but still! Now the face Naruto saw was quite masculine and had yellow eyes and purple make-up.

"Whoa… Are you gonna rip off your boobs next?"

Orochimaru just growled and opened his mouth, where a long pink tongue shot out like a chameleon's and took a swing at Naruto.

"Holy shi–" he jumped, but the tongue clipped his foot, sending him into a spin. Just as he righted himself in the air, Naruto's eyes widened at the sight of a huge fireball headed his way.

Sasuke and Sakura gasped as the flame ball engulfed him.

Orochimaru just sighed and turned his attention to Sasuke again, but snapped his head back to dodge the attack coming from a flying Naruto, who's body was encased in a fading mist of red. There wasn't a scratch or a burn mark on neither him nor his clothes. And so they started the fighting dance again.

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes as one of the swords cut deeply into his arm, and he leaped away.

"You are proving to be one troublesome brat…" he said, before opening his mouth again. This time, a snake came out, and the snake opened its mouth to produce a sword. He chuckled and charged. This time, it was Naruto who was on the defensive, efficiently blocking every attack with his fast reflexes but unable to counter at all. The fight lasted only a few minutes before they were at a standstill, where Naruto was straining with both his swords in a cross blocking the one sword above him.

"Who… knew a girl… could be so strong…" Naruto grunted out. Orochimaru just chuckled.

"Know your place, brat," he said as he pushed on his Kusanagi, though he was curiously fascinated that his sword wouldn't cut through the opponent's. Naruto suddenly smirked and his two short swords glowed red. Orochimaru instantly leaped away as Naruto swung.

Once he was a good distance, he examined his own sword. It was minute, but he could see clearly that on either side of the blade, there were two cuts. He started to worry, for if he had stayed there, there was a chance his sword would have been cut in half. He looked up again at Naruto, who was holding the swords (which were still glowing red) lazily.

"Come on, let's continue playing."

"Kukuku, how amusing. But it seems you are being replaced," and as he said that, he dodged an attack from Sasuke.

"Oi, I was fighting him just fine thank you very much!" Naruto shouted vehemently.

Sasuke ignored him, furiously fighting. Now Orochimaru chuckled and brought forth gust of wind but Sasuke jumped up to avoid it and threw several kunai at the girl's head, which she merely moved her head to dodge. Orochimaru smirked and swallowed his sword.

"Sasuke, let's play." And they fought.

Naruto pouted and put his swords back on his back.

----

Sasuke was losing, and he knew it. He threw more kunai and Orochimaru dodged. He suddenly had a vision. The silhouette of the tall figure haunting him.

_"Foolish brother. If you wish to kill me, hate me, detest me and survive in unsightly ways. Run...run..."_

Sasuke shook from his painful memories. His face scrunched in anger and remembrance.

_"Run and cling to life"_

Sasuke snapped open his eyes, and instead of black irises they were blood red with two commas in one and one in the other. (**Please correct me if this is wrong compared to the real version on the Great Naruto Bridge.)**

Orochimaru's smile widened significantly when he saw them.

"You are definitely part of the Uchiha Clan."

---- (sorry, I'm quite bad at fight scenes.)

Within a second, the small bombs Sasuke had planted on him, exploded. He was sent flying next to Sasuke on his knees. Sasuke quickly jumped up, throwing shuriken down at him, wires attached. Sasuke pulled on the wire and they grabbed the ninja, pinning him to the tree behind him. Sasuke tugged on the strings, tightening them around the tree, threatening to slice the nin in half as the wires held him against the tree. Sasuke placed the ends of the strings into his mouth and formed a hand sign, putting the wire in between his fingers that shaped the hand sign.

"Fire Style: Dragon Fire Jutsu!!" A large blast of fire erupted from Sasuke's mouth, flowing down the strings towards the grass ninja's body. A blood chilling scream came from the grass ninja as the fire made contact with his body, parts of the tree even burning under Sasuke's jutsu. After a minute, the fire died down. The tree was smouldering, now a grey colour and a large chunk of the tree was missing. The grass ninja was still pinned against the tree by the fire, his head hung. Sasuke released his jutsu and hunched over in exhaustion. But then he tensed again.

He had broken through the wires and stood on the branch, facing Sasuke.

_'How is he still alive!?_' Sasuke questioned.

"Kukuku, I'm impressed that you can use the Sharingan so well at your age," the man with boobs spoke. "You live up to the name Uchiha."

The ninja removed their hand from their hitai-ate. No longer did the metal plate show a grass symbol... now it was a musical note, the Sound Village symbol. "You two are definitely brothers. Your eyes say that you carry more potential than Itachi," the ninja spoke.

"Wh-who are you!?"

The ninja held up the Heaven scroll he had swiped from Naruto, who was banging his head on a tree for his carelessness. Setting the scroll a flame, the ninja stared at Sasuke.

"My name is Orochimaru. If you ever plan on seeing me again, you'll have to make it through this exam," he spoke.

"What are you talking about?!" Sasuke yelled. "I never want to see you ever again!" Orochimaru smirked.

"It doesn't work that way." With a hand seal, Orochimaru's neck shot out, barring fangs.

"Wha-" Sasuke tried to move but was frozen to the spot. But it was too late. Orochimaru's teeth sank into Sasuke's neck. Blood started to leak from the piercing marks and Orochimaru withdrew, his neck going back to normal. Sasuke let out a scream of pain, his hand clenching his neck.

"A little farewell gift," Orochimaru said, performing a hand sign. Sasuke let out another scream and sank to his knees. On Sasuke's neck, above two teeth marks, was the Cursed Seal of Heaven. "You will seek for my power, you will–" he was cut off when he jumped up, narrowly missing a punch that hit the branch he was standing on, causing it to instantly snap and fall. Naruto jumped onto another branch and looked around, but Orochimaru was already gone. "Dammit!" he yelled, and turned to Sakura, who was holding an unconscious Sasuke. ----

Orochimaru reappeared on a tree branch. Darkness blanketed the forest, as he stood straight, Anko ran on the forest ground, teeth clenched together. "I can feel him..." Orochimaru's facial expression changed for a second before he lay down on a tree branch and sank into it. His body reappeared on the tree trunk, his head and chest sticking out. Anko's pace quickened as she ran, jumping from tree to tree. Forest scenery whipped past her as she soon spotted Orochimaru. Orochimaru opened one snake eye and smiled as Anko walked up to him on a tree branch.

"It's been a long time, Anko."

Anko stared at Orochimaru. "You are an extremely dangerous S-ranked criminal… wanted. That is why I am going to kill you, even if it costs me my life. After all..." Anko slid four tracker needles in-between each finger of her right hand. "It's my job as your former student who learned everything from you, right?"

Orochimaru smirked. "You can't."

"Watch me!" Anko shouted as she drew back her arm to throw the tracker needles straight at Orochimaru's head. Immediately, Orochimaru's tongue lashed out. Anko jumped back but Orochimaru's tongue still wrapped itself around Anko's throwing wrist. Anko scowled. She landed on a tree branch.

"Shadow Snake!" she called and from her left arm came four snakes. With open jaws, the green snakes lunged at Orochimaru. The snakes latched onto him.

"I won't let you get away!" Anko pulled back her left arm, her snakes bringing Orochimaru with them.

With a heave, Anko thrust Orochimaru into a tree. She withdrew the snakes and ran at Orochimaru. Anko pinned the back of Orochimaru's hand to the tree trunk and placed her palm against his. Taking out a kunai, Anko stabbed it through both of their hands, pinning them both to the tree by their hands.

"There... I got you. Now, I'm going to borrow your left hand..." Anko took Orochimaru's left hand with her right and formed a hand seal.

Orochimaru's eye widened. "That seal is..."

Anko smirked. "That's right; we're both going to die here. Dual Snake Destroyer..."

"Are you trying to commit suicide?" Orochimaru asked.

Anko's eyes widened as the real Orochimaru appeared behind her.

"You're holding a replacement..." The true Orochimaru smirked as the full moon came out, shining on the scene. Anko's gasped as she turned to face the ninja she was pinned to. Its eerie face grinned at her before it turned to mud and dripped away.

"You're one of the village's special jounin," Orochimaru spoke, walking towards Anko. "So don't just use the forbidden techniques I taught you." Anko pulled the kunai from her hand and sent it at Orochimaru. He caught it with ease and smirked.

"It is useless, Anko." Orochimaru formed a hand seal Anko let out a cry of pain. She hunched over, grasping the curse mark on her neck. Orochimaru dropped the bloody kunai and walked over to Anko.

"Why...did you come?" Anko asked weakly as Orochimaru stood in front of her. Orochimaru gave a mocking smile. "We haven't seen each other in such a long time and yet, you still treat me so coldly."

"Did you come to assassinate Lord Hokage?" Anko asked, breathing heavily.

Orochimaru shook his head. "Oh no, I still don't have enough men for that. So I came to 'reserve' a certain someone from this village."

"Sasuke...Uchiha Sasuke?" Anko murmured.

"The very one," Orochimaru confirmed. "He will come to me for power."

And if he doesn't?" Anko asked coldly.

"He will… simple as that."

"You sound so certain of yourself."

Orochimaru smirked. "It is predictable, the heart of an avenger. So easily manipulated…"

Anko glared before sinking to her knees in pain.

"I have given Sasuke a present, the same one I gave you long ago," Orochimaru spoke. Anko clutched her curse mark. Sweat rolled down her face as Orochimaru knelt down by her. She glared up at him.

"He's going to die."

"True, there is only a ten percent chance that he will survive. However, they could be like you and not die."

"You seem quite interested in him..." Anko stopped as Orochimaru's hand stroked her left cheek.

"Are you jealous?" Orochimaru asked, caressing her cheek. "Are you still angry that I used you and then cast you away like trash?"

Anko's eyes quivered before they glared at Orochimaru. Orochimaru smiled devilishly.

"Unlike you, Sasuke seems like an excellent ninja. After all, the boy carries the abilities of the Uchiha Clan. His body is perfect and is quite capable of becoming a successor." Anko shuddered.

Orochimaru stood up and began to walk away. "Whatever you do, do not cancel this exam. Six from my village are under your care. I'm going to enjoy this. If you take away my joy, Konoha will be over," Orochimaru's voice rang through the clearing as he disappeared in a cloud of purple.

**

* * *

A/N: **Wow, just over eight pages, must be a record. It's my punishment for making you wait so long.

**(1) – Atobe's beloved saying from Prince of Tennis. Great anime/manga.**

Just to let you know, this is the first time Sasuke has activated his Sharingan, **not** at the bridge. But I heard he actually activated it when Itachi left, so technically not the first time. Till next time!!


	25. Nobody's Pet!

**A/N: **Mou, I'm sooo laazyy! I apologies for any mistakes.

_**----**_Just a note, Naruto is technically 26, because he's lived 15 years as a demon, and he was turned into a one year old baby. Pardon the note if I've already mentioned this.

_**----**_Hmm, I might make Sakura's attitude a little more mature here, is that ok? Please review your thoughts!

* * *

**Nobody's Pet!**

_**Last time…**_

"_You will seek for my power, you will–" he was cut off when he jumped up, narrowly missing a punch that hit the branch he was standing on, causing it to instantly snap and fall. Naruto jumped onto another branch and looked around, but Orochimaru was already gone._ "_Dammit!" he yelled, and turned to Sakura, who was holding an unconscious Sasuke._

_Orochimaru stood up and began to walk away. "Whatever you do, do not cancel this exam. Six from my village are under your care. I'm going to enjoy this. If you take away my joy, Konoha will be over," Orochimaru's voice rang through the clearing as he disappeared in a cloud of purple._

**One day later… One day till deadline.**

For once, Naruto wished Sasuke was walking beside him… so he wouldn't have to carry him by himself! Naruto pouted slightly and shifted the unconscious body on his shoulder. It's not to say Sasuke was heavy, but Naruto now felt more like a horse, or a donkey. His pride was being punched in the gut every few seconds.

Naruto looked back at the slightly lagging Sakura, who was breathing quite hard. Naruto felt sorry for her.

_Wow, she is so weak, I supposed walking slowly for less than half a day would do that to her._

They walked into a small clearing, and stood next to a large tree with its roots showing.

"Okay then, well rest here and eat some food," Naruto said, and Sakura gratefully nodded, then shrieked when she witnessed Naruto throwing Sasuke under the tree.

"What are you doing! Don't do that to Sasuke-kun!"

"He'll live."

Sakura knelt down to check on him. He was still out cold, but he did have a slight fever. Naruto sat down and got out a white cloth, while Sakura got a water bottle and poured it onto the cloth. She laid the damp cloth onto Sasuke's forehead.

Naruto went around the area to set up some traps, before he plopped down, took out a rice ball and started munching on it. Oh sure, he was worried for Sasuke… a little… but really, it had already been a day and he hadn't died. It seemed that the Orochi guy didn't intend to kill him.

Naruto shuddered at the thought of him/her/it. The image of a guy's face with a girl's breasts was ingrained deeply within his mind.

Sakura gasped when red chakra surrounded Naruto's body, then disappeared to reveal a small red fox.

"Oi, warn me when you're about to do that!" Sakura yelled.

The fox grinned sheepishly, before curling up on the dirt floor and sleeping.

She couldn't help but want to touch the fur. It looked to soft, and fuzzy, and warm! She spent the next few minutes reaching out a hand and drawing it back. She reached out again, and squeaked when Naruto opened his mouth. She sighed in relief when a pink tongue flopped out a little as the fox started snoring slightly. She slowly moved her hand to his tail, and stroked it. She smiled happily as the tail twitched before curling around her hand. She knew it wasn't normal for a fox's tail to be so prehensile, but she didn't complain.

Sakura looked up when she heard a rustle. She slowly turned around, her heart thumping loudly in her chest.

_Munch munch._

She stared the squirrel that had appeared. The squirrel stared at her, and she stared at it….

"…"

The squirrel started closer.

Sakura, using her free hand, threw a kunai at it, and it ran off.

_Phew, that was close.

* * *

_

Lee hopped from tree branch to tree branch after splitting up from his team. He stopped on a tree branch and watched as a bunch of leaves started to flutter towards the ground. Lee got a glint in his eye.

"If I can catch all twenty leaves before they hit the ground, Sakura will fall madly in love with me!" A blush appeared on Lee's cheeks as an image of Sakura appeared in his mind. (Somewhere a ways off, Sakura sneezed)

"But if I miss even one, this will end as a one-sided love" Fire sparked in Lee's eyes. He dove down, fingers grasping at the leaves. "One, two three, four...five, six, seven..." He snatched them quickly. "Fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen..."

Lee fell and hit a branch with his back. "Nineteen~" Lee quickly got up as the last leaf fluttered towards the ground. Lee dove down and just as he grasped the last leaf, he looked to his left to see a brown squirrel on its back, on fire. Lee quickly landed and scooped up the squirrel, taking the exploding tag and crushing it before it could explode.

"That was a close one little guy. A little bit more time and you would have exploded with it," Lee informed as the little squirrel rubbed its black eye. Lee stared at the smouldering bomb in his hand with a serious face. "Who would do such a horrible thing?"

* * *

"Stop hiding and come out," Neji spoke in the middle of the clearing. Shikamaru, Ino and Choji all sat, hiding behind the bush, their eyes wide.

"How could he know? He's so fast!" Ino whispered, astonished.

"I can't believe such a troublesome guy found us," Shikamaru muttered.

"Plan number 1- hide and avoid trouble, failed," Ino assessed. "Time for plan 2."

"What's plan two?" Choji asked quietly.

"Distract target with my beauty of course."

Shikamaru sighed. "Oh geez... whatever, let's just go."

Team 10 scrambled to their feet and ran into the clearing.

"Oh boy! How lucky of us to get to meet last ear's number one rookie, Hyuuga Neji!" Ino exclaimed.

"Can I have your autograph?" Shikamaru asked with mock enthusiasm.

Ino reached up to untie the ribbon keeping her hair in a high ponytail. "Now, time for you to fall head over heels with my sexiness!" Ino undid the ribbon and her hair fell down, blowing in the breeze slightly. _Sparkle sparkle. _She winked. "I've always wanted to cross paths with you, Neji."

Neji simply turned around and started walking. "Be gone."

An anger mark appeared on Ino's forehead. "What! Wh-why didn't my charm work on him! Now I'm pissed dammit!" Ino yelled in her mind, punching her fists outward.

Neji stopped but did not turn around. "You're raising your fists towards me...does that men you want a fight?"

Ino immediately stood in attention. She smiled innocently. "N-no, not at all!"

Neji looked over his shoulder with a scowl. "Then be gone. I have no use for your scroll. If I take it from the likes of you I'll just be a laughing stock."

"Okay!" And Shikamaru, Ino and Choji ran and hid behind the bush once more.

"They're like cockroaches..." Neji muttered before walking off.

Team 10 panted.

"Man that was close," Shikamaru commented. Ino stood up, tying her hair back up. "Alright, let's go find us some weak people! Ahahahaha!" She laughed maniacally.

Shikamaru sweat dropped.

"There is no one weaker than us..."

* * *

Sakura gasped when three people come out from the foliage. She saw the Sound symbol on their head-bands. Forgetting about Naruto, she gets up and holds a kunai in her hand. A boy with spiky brown hair holds up his hands.

"Hey, hey, no need to get so defensive! We just want you to wake up Sasuke."

Sakura just grips her kunai tighter.

"There's no way I'm gonna let you get to Sasuke!" she yells.

The boy just smirks.

"Then I'll wake him myself."

He starts walking, then pauses before he put his foot down. He put his foot in another place.

"Do you think I'm stupid? I could see the thread from a mile away! So that's why you threw the kunai, so that the squirrel wouldn't spring the trap."

He's about to step over it when he sees the red fox on the ground get up. Sakura also looks down.

Naruto stretched and yawned, and blinked sleepily at the three Oto nins. He pads forward slowly, then stops. Not even Sakura knows what he's doing, let alone the Sound nins. You could almost see the flying question marks above their heads. A foxy smirk instantly appears on the fox's snout as he lifts a paw, gently touching a thread.

The next second, the three Oto nins jump up to avoid the previously harmless thread, which was attempting to cut off their feet.

But as they land, they actually step on a thread lying on the ground. This causes a giant log to fly towards them. The ninja called Dosu holds up an arm, and the log is split and blown away. (I think… ohwell)

"Heh, obviously, you are a useless ninja."

He steps forward once again, but is (yet again) interrupted by a loud cry.

"Leaf Hurricane!"

Performing his jutsu, Lee appears, and the three sound nins are knocked away. Lee stands between the sound nins and Naruto and Sakura.

"It seems like you are also a useless ninja," Lee taunts.

"Who are you?" Dosu asks.

"I am the handsome devil of the Leaf village. My name is Rock Lee. And I will defeat you!"

Sakura looked thankful, but confused.

"But right now in this test, I'm your enemy."

"Sakura… I will protect you until I die."

Sakura was stunned, then smiled.

"Yes. Thank you, Rock Lee."

Sakura couldn't see it, but tears were flowing down his cheeks. Yes, s_he said yes, Gai-sensei! She said YES!_

"Fear not, my beautiful Cherry Blossom! And your pet." Naruto hisses and quickly changes back.

"WHO'S PET?"

"UWAAAAAA, I'M SO SORRY NARUTO-KUN! I DID NOT REALISE IT WAS YOU!"

"YOU BETTER BE SORRY! I AM **NOBODY'S** PET! THE DAY I BECOME A PET IS THE DAY YOU **STOP WORSHIPPING GAI-SENSEI**!"

"AHHHHHHH! NO, NEVEEEEEERRRRRRRRRR!"

"EXACTLY! THE DAY I BECOME A PET IS THE DAY YOU THINK **GREEN SPANDEX IS TOTALLY WRONG**!"

"AHHHHHHH! THE HORROOOOORRRRRRRRR!"

"THE DAY I BECOME A PET IS THE DAY YOU THINK **BEING UNYOUTHFUL IS THE WAY TO BE**!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"THE DAY~~!"

"Enough of this!"

Everyone turned to see the fuming sound trio, large ticks on their foreheads.

"What are you, two circus freaks? I don't care either way, I'm gonna kill all of you!"

Lee struck a nice pose_ღ_. "Sakura! I'll say it again! I vow to protect you with my life!"

Lee looked at the Sound nin, serious. _I will have to use my full strength to beat them. I am sure Naruto will aid me to defeat them! Yosh!_

"Yosh! Naruto-kun, will you help me defeat the enemy?"

Naruto slid out the swords from their sheaths and smiled at Lee.

"Ready whenever you are."

* * *

"Man there really isn't anyone who is weaker than us!" Ino cried out in frustration.

"I still think Naruto's team might be weaker than us," Shikamaru said.

"TAKE THAT BACK RIGHT NOW!"

"Jeez, what's your problem?"

"There's no doubt Sakura are lame, but don't bad-mouth Sasuke, he's awesome! And plus, don't they have a demon with them?"

Shikamaru frowned in thought.

"Even though they do, I don't think Naruto would try to kill us. He seems to care for Konoha… to a degree. Besides, he is strong, but I don't think he has much of a fighting style, so it should be easy to beat him with our combination." _I think…_

"Hey, Sasuke is unconscious."

The two turned to their other teammate, who was sitting on a high branch eating potato chips.

"And Sakura, Naruto and the Lee guy are fighting."

"What did you say?" Ino exclaimed and jumped onto the branch with Shikamaru.

"Oh!"

* * *

Tenten sighed as she looked at the kunai.

"He's late. He's never late! Lee… is fanatical about being on time."

Neji didn't respond.

"Maybe he ran into the enemy… you think?" Tenten said worriedly.

Neji just chuckled.

"No… I'm sure he is alright. Still, we better go find him."

"Right."

They leapt off.

* * *

Lee began unwrapping the bandages on his arms as the one named Dosu charged.

_I know you said that this move is forbidden, but the conditions have been met. I must use the jutsu…  
_

"To protect the life of someone precious!" Lee held up his hand in a sign, then disappeared.

"Can he disappear?" Dosu muttered before he got kicked in the chin by the reappearing Lee from below. He flew into the air, and Le followed.

"Not yet!" Lee cried, and the bandages wrapped around Dosu's body. Lee held his body, and they began falling head first towards the ground.'

"Oh no, Dosu," Zaku muttered and did some hand signs and smashed his fists into the ground, just as the spinning Lee crying "Primary Lotus" and Dosu hit the ground. Zaku then had to dodge an attack from Naruto.

Naruto grinned.

"What, did you forget I was here?"

Lee flipped away and panted. _That should have finished him… What!_

Lee's eyes widened as he saw Dosu get out of the dirt mound.

"Heh, that is a dangerous jutsu. It would have been worse if I hadn't landed in this soft dirt. Now it's my turn," he said and charged.

_Oh no, my body has not recovered from the jutsu!_

Lee dodged a punch, but cried in pain as something invisible slammed into his ears. His vision got blurry and he felt sick.

"Your jutsu may be fast, but it is nothing compared to mine, which travels the speed of sound."

_**To be continued~~~~~~~**_

_**~Omake~**_

"Lee! Are you ready for some youthful training!" Gai shouted.

"…ehhh, no thanks. I think Kakashi-sensei is way cooler than you."

"…AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! What is wrong with you Lee!"

_Rrrriiiiippppppp!_

Gai's draw dropped as he witnessed his pupil rip of his green spandex suit, to reveal him in his pink frilly underpants.

"Lee! What are you doing? That is very unyouthful!"

Lee spun around really quickly, and suddenly he was wearing an old brown robe, a fake old man's beard, and bending over a walking stick. Lee looked at the open-mouthed Gai and said just five words.

"Who wants to be youthful?"

_Thud._

Gai had fainted.

Naruto in fox mode had been walking past. He stared at the scene.

_Well I'll be… _he thought, before padding up to the nearest bystander and giving them the Cute Blue-eyed Wonder™ look, making the lady instantly squeal:

"My new pet fox!"

_**~Owari~**_

* * *

**A/N: **Not the end of the story of course! Haha. My favourite scene is definitely the 'pet' scene, I just had to make an Omake about is. 3

This is officially my longest chapter in this story!

Oh my god, I've just realised that the dashes for the page breaks... don't show up! Why didn't anyone tell me! Sorry about that, I'll make sure to put something there to separate it. It must have been so confusing for you!

Please leave a thought or comment! Till next time!


	26. Influenced By Ebil!

**A/N: **Eheeee, next chapter…

**Just to let you know, I've recently realised that MY PAGE BREAKS DON'T WORK! –cough- anyway, I'll be trying a new one.

* * *

**

**Influenced By Ebil!**

_**Last time…**_

_Lee dodged a punch, but cried in pain as something invisible slammed into his ears. His vision got blurry and he felt sick._

"_Your jutsu may be fast, but it is nothing compared to mine, which travels the speed of sound."'_

_-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-_

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the Dosu dude stood over Lee and started explaining how his special device was so cool it uses sound to destroy the inner ear as if someone cared. Naruto flipped back as Zaku tried to kick him in the head.

"No matter what you do, fox boy, you will not beat us. We have the jutsu of the future."

"Oh I'm so scared! Well I've lived with the jutsu of the past and it's done a pretty good job thank you very much," Naruto said, and charged quickly.

Zaku just smirked and dodged him easily, but didn't see the clone Naruto had made, which kicked him. He flew into a tree.

Zaku groaned and shifted himself upright. Naruto started walking towards him, his swords gleaming.

"Oi, stop right there or the girl gets it!"

Naruto turned his head, and sure enough, the sound girl, _Pin, _Naruto decided to call her, was holding onto a beaten up Sakura by her long pink hair. Naruto scanned the area out of the corner of his eye. Lee was on the ground, though in a different place… and nothing was different about Sasuke.

Kin smirks at Naruto, then tells Zaku, "Get up!"

Zaku groans in embarrassment and pain as he get's up and reappears next to Kin. Naruto does nothing.

"Come on, Zaku, he's right there, go kill Sasuke right now."

Zaku grinned and started to make his way towards Sasuke.

"Naruto, do something!" Sakura cried.

Naruto opened his mouth, but was interrupted by Kin screaming, "You move and I slit her throat!" Naruto closed his mouth and sighed, then glared at Sakura.

Sakura didn't understand at first, but then realised what he was saying. _He can't do anything because I'm captured!_ Sakura pulled out a kunai, determination flashing in her eyes.

Everyone gasped as Sakura cut off her own hair, freeing her self. Kin growls and is about to recapture Sakura when she ducks to prevent her head being cut off by Naruto's sword. Ironically enough, the sword cuts off most of her black hair. Funny how the world goes round.

Kin screamed in anger as black hair floated around her, and Naruto couldn't help but snigger. Sakura used the distraction to charge at Zaku.

"Oops, my bad, sorry," Naruto says in a tone that clearly states he isn't sorry at all.

"You'll pay for that you insolent brat!" Kin screeches and throws several sebon needles at him. A flicker of red chakra efficiently blocks them all. (Lesson learned from the Wave incident)

Kin backed away a little, now less confidant.

"What the hell was that!"

Naruto pouted.

"What, just cause my chakra's a little different to yours doesn't mean you can discriminate."

Kin frowns, Naruto giggles, and they start fighting again. (Oh god I suck at fight scenes. Just, uh, make up what happens…)

Naruto had just kicked Kin into a part of the forest when Team 10 suddenly appeared in front of Sakura, who was by now quite beaten up. Naruto winced as he realised he had forgotten her. Ino and Sakura said something to each other, but Naruto was too busy wondering why Shikamaru was holding Choji by his scarf like a leash.

"These Leaf village worms will be sorry they squirmed into something that doesn't concern them," Dosu said.

Naruto sweat-dropped as Choji cried.

"What are we doing here, these guys are bad!"

"Don't look at me, it was Ino's idea," Shikamaru retorted. "What are supposed to do, let a girl do all the fighting?"

"Eehehehe, sorry for dragging you into this, but we are a 3-man-team. All for one and one for all," Ino said.

"Yeah, what's meant to happen will," Shikamaru replied.

"Team-work? More like suicide!" Choji shouted and tried to get away, but Shikamaru was still holding his scarf.

Zaku laughed. "Heh, better a live sheep than a dead lion. Right, _fatso_?"

Choji's ear twitched and he stopped moving.

"Would you mind repeating that?" Choji said with his back turned.

"I said you're smart to get out while you can, _fatty_," Zaku said.

"…"

"…"

"**WHO ARE YOU CALLING FAT I'M JUST A LITTLE CHUBBY OKAAAAAAAAAAYYYY! RAHHHHHHHHH!"**

Naruto and Sakura stared at him with their mouths open.

"That does it, now this is personal! It's a fight to the death between the Leaf and the Sound!" Flames sprung up in his eyes.

"Good job, thanks a lot. Now we gotta live with him," Shikamaru said to Zaku.

"Don't worry it won't be for long," Zaku replied.

By this point, Naruto had sheathed his swords and turned around to search for Kin, but then there was a sudden shout.

"HUMAN BOULDER JUTSUUUUUUU!"

Naruto turned in time to see Choji jump into the air and transform into a spinning green… ball?

"You've got to be kidding, maybe I'm supposed to laugh myself to death," Zaku said and thrust his hands out. "Slicing Sound Wave!"

The boulder stopped, but kept spinning. Suddenly it leapt into the air and started falling straight at Zaku.

Dosu ran to help, but froze when Shikamaru's shadow paralysed him. Kin appeared and threw sebon needles at Shikamaru, but Naruto appeared in front of him and repelled the needles with his chakra.

"Thanks," Shikamaru said. Naruto gave him the thumbs up and grinned, and was about to charge at Kin when Shikamaru stopped him.

"Ino's got her."

Naruto looked curiously as Shikamaru caught her falling body. Naruto then looked at Kin, who had frozen, then slumped.

"Oh yeah! The Yamanakas's mind transfer jutsu." The Sandaime had pretty much drilled lessons about the clans into his head whenever the Hokage found time to visit him.

Turning the attention towards the other fight… Choji smashed into the ground, where Zaku had managed to dodge out of the way otherwise he would have become mince meat.

"Dammit! Kin!"

"…"

"What's the matter?" Dosu shouted.

Kin's body jolted, then her head rose, a large smirk on her face. She took out a kunai and held it to her own throat and shouted loudly, "Party's over boys!"

"If you guys move an inch, I'll kill this Kin girl. If you don't want it to end here, then leave your scroll and get out of here. When I can't sense your chakra anymore, I'll let her go."

Suddenly, Zaku raised a hand.

"Choji!" Kin shouted.

The big spinning green ball leaped up and landed in front of Kin, but was almost instantly blown away by Zaku's attack. Kin smashed into the tree behind her. Ino's body, which Shikamaru was holding, was being affected. There was blood coming out of her mouth.

"Ino!" Shikamaru cried out.

Kin looked up, one eye shut in pain. "These guys… Hurting their own comrade…"

Zaku grinned. "You let down your guard."

Behind him, Dosu added, "Our goal is neither the stupid scrolls nor to safely complete this exam.

"What!"

Dosu said, "It's Sasuke!"

Naruto wasn't paying attention anymore. He was staring at Sasuke, who's body seemed to be leaking malevolent purple chakra. _Wow, that is evil! Not as bad as my father's, but pretty bad! Must have been something to do with Snake dude, cause I would have sensed it if Sasuke had that kind of chakra in him._

Naruto turned his head towards the treetops when he sensed two other chakra signs. One he recognised, but he didn't really remember where it was from. Sure enough, two people appeared. They watched for a few seconds before one of them said, "I've had about enough of this."

Everyone turned their attention to them.

"Hey Neji!"

Everyone then turned their attention to Naruto.

Neji blinked at Naruto, then sighed.

"Neji! Neji! How's Hinata? Is she okay? I forgot to ask you before!"

"Yes, Naruto, she is fine."

"Really! Did you find out what was wrong with her?"

"There was nothing wrong with her."

"What! Then why did she keep going red and then fainting! That's not normal, is it?"

"There was **nothing wrong with her**," Neji said/growled.

"But she kept fainting! What if she is really sick! She might die!"

Neji twitched. Not many people can annoy Neji, and now Naruto was on the list. Right next to Lee. And Gai. Neji decided to ignore him, and turned his attention to the Sound nin. Ya know, the ones they had kind of forgotten about.

"Some minor Sound nin bullying these second rate nin-"

"Hey! Who you calling second rate!"

A tick appeared on Neji's forehead.

"Naruto, please shut up. Just think of it as a figure of speech."

"…fine."

"Some minor- urgh, never mind. That knocked out bowl-head right there is our teammate," Neji said. Suddenly his eyes hardened, veins popped out around them. Neji had activated his Byakugan. "How dare you do as you please!"

Everyone gasped.

"What the hell!"

Everyone looked at Naruto, who was looking at Sasuke, who was looking at the ground. Sasuke was standing up, evil purpled chakra swirling around him, his the right side of his body was covered with strange black tattoos.

"Sakura… who did that to you?" Sasuke asked.

"Sasuke, your body is…" Sakura said.

Sasuke looked at his hand through Sharingan eyes.

"Don't worry, I can feel it, the power surging through me. Never felt better. He gave it to me. I finally understand now. I am an avenger. I must obtain power no matter what. Even if I must let evil (EBIL!) take hold of my body."

Naruto stared at Sasuke, thinking, _Huh? Avenger?_

"So Sasuke has the curse seal. Still, I can't believe he survived," Dosu said.

"Sakura, tell me, who out of these people hurt you!"

"I did it," Zaku said with a smile.

Naruto noticed that Shikamaru had retreated with Choji, _wimp_, and got Ino to return to her body.

Naruto turned his attention to Sasuke again. _Whoa, that's almost as evil as my chakra!_

Now the seal had spread to the left side of Sasuke's face.

"This is too much for us to handle," Dosu said.

"Come on, I can kill both of them. (Sasuke and Sakura) Supersonic Slicing Wave!"

Naruto was about to jump in and block the attack with his chakra when he noticed Sasuke in a flash had picked up Sakura and leaped off.

_That's interesting._ Naruto had never encountered something like this before. Usually, someone did not just get all powerful like that. (according to Naruto) All the demons Naruto had met either were already all powerful or not. There was a certain hierarchy based on power, and demons tended to stick with it.

"Heh, they're blown to pieces!" Zaku said.

"Who did?"

Zaku didn't even get to move before he was struck. The force sent him flying and skidding towards Dosu.

Sasuke flashed through hand signs. "Fire style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" he shouted and blew out several fire balls.

"Don't get so cocky! I can stop that!" Zaku cried and held his arms out. The sound blew away the fire, but not the shurikan hidden inside.

"Zaku, below you!"

Sasuke's form flashed below and behind, and in a second, Sasuke was holding his two arms and one foot on his back.

"You seem to be very proud of these arms of yours," Sasuke said ominously.

"No, stop it!" Zaku screamed.

_Crack! Crack!_

Zaku screamed as his arms were dislocated. (A/N: I think they were dislocated…) He fell to the floor, twitching. Sasuke turned his head towards Dosu.

"It looks like you're the only one left."

Dosu shook.

"I hope you make things more interesting than your friend did."

Sasuke started walking, past Sakura. Naruto appeared beside her.

"Hey, do you think you can stop him?" Naruto asked worriedly. If they didn't stop him soon, he might go on a killing spree. "I can try, but I'll probably just make things worse."

Sakura shook, tears welling in her eyes. She nodded, and got up.

"Stop it!" she cried. She ran up to his back and hugged him, preventing him from walking further. "Please stop."

Sasuke's eyes stared at her. Naruto pulled out a sword, ready to attack if he did anything stupid.

Sakura sobbed, tears falling down her cheeks. The two stood, not moving.

"Please. Please just stop it."

Eventually, the black seals on his body glowed red and receded. Sasuke collapsed onto his butt and panted.

Dosu shakily gets out his scroll, and puts it on the ground.

"You are strong, you have defeated us. Please let us leave and you may have this scroll in return."

"Deal!" shouted Naruto. Dosu picked up the two unconscious bodies of Kin and Zaku and hurried away.

Naruto pocketed the scroll, and then turned to Sasuke.

"What did that Snake dude put on you! That was some powerful chakra you were releasing."

Sasuke didn't say anything.

Neji and Tenten jumped down from the trees. Naruto grinned at Tenten.

"Hiya! Sorry I didn't say hi before." He looked at Lee. "Uh, I'm sorry about Lee."

Neji went to pick him up.

"He should be fine."

Team 10 came out of the bushes, and Ino walked up to Sakura.

"…here, let me help you shape your hair better. Shame on you for doing such a rough job!" she scolded.

Sakura smiled.

"Thanks Ino. Sasuke, will you be alright?"

Sasuke heaved himself up. "I'm fine."

Naruto rolled his eyes. _Whatever the snake dude did, it didn't take away his bastardness. _

_**

* * *

A/N: **_For some reason, I don't really like this chapter. Maybe cause I just watched the episode and pretty much copied it…

Does Naruto seem to be too light-hearted to you? If he is, please let me know.

Anyway, I hope to have more reviews! I'll give you guys an Omake in return!


	27. Preliminaries

**A/N: **I'm so sorry about this, the Prince of Tennis story I'm writing with my friend seems to have become much more important… I'm so sorry! I kinda feel like this story isn't that good, because it was my very first chaptered story, and I hadn't thought it through very well.

BUT! Many reviews I've received encourage me to write, so here goes, I'm gonna write as much as I can right now!

* * *

**Preliminaries **

_**Previously…**_

_Sakura smiled._

"_Thanks Ino. Sasuke, will you be alright?"_

_Sasuke heaved himself up. "I'm fine."_

_Naruto rolled his eyes._ Whatever the snake dude did, it didn't take away his bastardness.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The three teams, Team 7, 10 and Gai's team were all from Konoha, they agreed to head to the centre building together. All three teams had enough scrolls, and they didn't encounter anyone until they all got to the building.

Kabuto was there.

"Ah, so you all made it," he said heartily. _Sasuke's still alive, and he has the curse mark… Orochimaru-sama will be very pleased._

Sakura nodded, "That's right. Where's the rest of your team?"

Kabuto smiled, "They went on ahead, and I'm about to follow now, see ya!" he said before leaping off.

Naruto sniffed. He could still smell snake, though it was probably because he had been riding on a snake as well as fighting a snake dude.

The teams went inside the building. The room was empty except for a poster on the wall.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-(Sorry, can't remember what is specifically on the plaque… orz…)

All three teams opened their scrolls, and in the middle of each one was the kanji for 'person'. Suddenly white smoke started to come out Team 7's scroll.

"It's a summoning inscription!" Sasuke shouted in alarm. Naruto and Sakura threw down the scrolls. The smoke started to rise up from the scroll and the familiar poof sound reached their ears. They could see a silhouette standing in the middle of the smoke.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto exclaimed.

The jonin had his nose stuck in his book, though he did look up.

"Yo. Long time no see." He gave a one-eyes smile. "Looks like the nine of you went through a lot of trouble."

"Why did you suddenly appear?" Sakura questioned.

"Well, it was meant to be a chunin greeting you, but one of the chunin couldn't make it, so I was the replacement, it was just by chance that I appeared before you guys. Since you all opened yours at the same time, just one person was needed to pass on a message."

"A message?" Ten-ten repeated.

Kakashi held up his hand, and one by one, and fingers dropped on at a time.

"You made it just in time. Everyone, congratulations on passing the second exam. I'd like to treat you to ramen at Ichiraku, but-"

"Ramen?" Naruto said excitedly. You could almost see the puppy tail wagging behind him… or rather fox tail.

"I wasn't finished…"

"What if we looked into the scrolls during the exam… Kakashi-sensei, what were you planning to do?" Sasuke asked suddenly. Everyone started thinking the same thing.

Kakashi closed-eye smiled again. "Ah Sasuke, you're as sharp as ever. As you have guessed, this exam tests your mission completion abilities. So, if you break the rules and open a scroll, we were ordered to knock out the examinees until the second phase ended."

Everyone blinked, and sighed in relief that they hadn't opened their scroll.

"Oh, sensei." Kakashi turned to Sakura. "What does that text on the wall mean?"

"Ah, right… that was what I was meant to talk to you about. Haha, must have slipped my mind," he said while reading his porn. Everyone sweat-dropped.

Anyway, this is the principal Lord Hokage wrote that you should keep in mind as a Chunin. The 'Heaven' in this text points to the head of the person. And 'Earth' points to the body. If you do not possess Heaven, gain knowledge and be prepared. That means, for example, if someone's weak point is their brain, they should study and prepare for their missions."

"And if you do not possess Earth, run through the fields and seek strength. For example, if someone's weakness lies in the strength, they should train them self every day. That's what it means."

"What about that missing letter?" Sasuke asked.

"It's the letter that symbolizes a Chunin." Iruka-sensei opened the scroll and showed it to us. "The 'human' letter that was here goes in there. The survival mission you took part in the past five days tested the basic abilities of examinees as a Chunin. And you guys completed it. A Chunin is a commander-class. He has a duty to lead a team. Deeply inscribe into your heart the importance of knowledge and strength in missions. Never forget that Chunin principal, and go on to the next step."

Kakashi smiled, "And then the next step would be jounin, but that will be a while away."

Everyone nodded.

Kakashi's book closed. "So that was all I was ordered to tell you."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

They headed towards large arena, where the others were waiting. The teams were lined up in front of their sensei, the Exam proctors and the Hokage himself. Behind them there were two big stone hands performing a seal.

"First off, congratulations on passing the second phase." Anko said. "We will now have an explanation of the third exam from Lord Hokage. Everyone listen well."

The Hokage stepped forward and started his speech.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.- (Once again, I can't remember…)

A brown-haired chunin jumped out of nowhere in front of the Hokage and kneeled to him.

"Excuse me, Lord Hokage." He said. "I, Gekkou Hayate, will explain the third exam."

The Hokage nodded.

"Please, do."

"Everyone, nice to meet you," Hayate said, turning to us and coughing a little.

"Everyone, before the third exam, there's something I want you to do. Fight in some preliminary matches to see who gets to advance the third exams main battle."

"What!" a few people yelled.

"Preliminary matches? What do you mean?" Shikamaru asked angrily.

"There are too many examinees left. According to Chunin regulations, we must decrease the number of participants for the third exam. As previously mentioned by Lord Hokage, there are many guests for the third exam. We cannot have a lot of matches. We're limited on time, as well. So, those who aren't feeling well-" He stopped the sentence to cough a little.

_Who's not feeling well? _Most people thought.

"Excuse me. If anyone wants to quit after hearing the explanation, please let me know." Like anyone would want to quit after coming so far. "The preliminary matches will begin immediately."

"Immediately?" Kiba exclaimed crossly as some other people gasped.

"But we just got through the second exam!" Ino cried.

"Aw what a drag," Shikamaru creatively said.

Sakura and Naruto heard a small wince of pain from behind and turned around to see Sasuke with a hand over his shoulder, where the mark was.

"Does it hurt?" Sakura whispered.

He gritted his teeth. Even if the mark wasn't activating, he still felt the pain from before. This could be a problem during his fight.

"Should we withdraw?" She asked.

Naruto's eyes widened at that.

Sasuke firmly shook his head, "No way."

"Excuse me."

Everyone turned to look at Kabuto, who had put his hand up.

"I don't really think I can fight, so I would like to drop out."

Everyone was surprised at that.

Hayate coughed, before saying, "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Kabuto replied simply.

Hayate nodded. "Very well, you have agreed to quit, so there is no going back."

"Then, let's begin the preliminary matches." Hayate announced. "It'll be a one-on-one match. There are no rules. You fight until the other person dies, is knocked out, or admits defeat. However, if I judge that the match's over, I may stop you to prevent any unnecessary deaths. The thing that will hold your destiny-" He nodded at Anko, who said something through her mike.

Some seconds later, part of the wall in front of us opened, revealing a huge black television screen. Everyone's eyes widened. "-will be this. This electric bulletin board will randomly display the names of two fighters for each match. Without further ado, I will now display the names for the first match."

"Akadou Yoroi vs. Uchiha Sasuke."

Sasuke smirked.

"Those whose names were displayed, step up," Hayate said.

Sasuke and one of Kabuto's strange teammates stepped forward.

"The first match's fighters are Akadou Yoroi and Uchiha Sasuke. Are there any objections?"

"No," both said.

"Everyone other than the two fighters, please move up there." Hayate gestured to the balconies.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Everyone was curious to see the top rookie's fight.

"Begin." Hayate announced, stepping backwards to make more room for the fighters.

Sasuke assumed a fighting stance and Yoroi made a seal. His hand glowed with blue chakra and he threw three shuriken at Sasuke.

The Uchiha deflected them with a kunai, but faltered when his mark throbbed causing him to cry out in pain. Losing his balance Sasuke fell on the floor. In an instant Yoroi was in front of him aiming a punch at Sasuke's face.

Sasuke rolled to the left and kicked Yoroi legs causing him to fall. Sasuke immobilized Yoroi pretty well, holding his head with the leg and his arm positioned on Sasuke's chest, with his other leg and one hand.

Kabuto's teammate's hand glowed with chakra again and clutched on Sasuke's shirt. The Uchiha's eyes widened and he started to shiver. Feeling the grip on his arm loosening Yoroi slammed it on Sasuke's chest. He took his head away from Sasuke's leg and jumped backwards, leaving the Sasuke on the floor.

Sasuke quickly sat up but couldn't dodge it in time. Yoroi pressed his hand on Sasuke's head causing him to fall on the floor again. Sasuke grabbed Yoroi's arm but couldn't find the strength to shove it away. After his futile attempts Sasuke released Yoroi with an exhausted expression. Everyone's eyes widened.

Surprising everyone, Sasuke managed to gather strength on his leg and kicked Yoroi's chest.

"Get off!"

Kabuto's teammate was thrown a few meters away from Sasuke. He, too, was surprised, but masked it well as he got to his feet.

Sasuke sat up again, panting heavily.

Yoroi chuckled. "Relax. I'll end this quickly."

He darted towards Sasuke using the same technique again. This time the Uchiha managed to stand up and dodge it. He dodged a few times until Yoroi's hand touched one of his hair's bangs. Sasuke reeled forward, using all his effort not to fall.

"What's wrong? Are you done for already?" Yoroi teased.

Sasuke swung a kick at him, but Yoroi jumped backwards and avoided it.

"SASUKE!" Naruto yelled, frustrated. "You call yourself an Uchiha with that? Stop acting like an idiot! Get serious!"

Sasuke ignored him, though he agreed.

Yoroi charged towards Sasuke. He was coming closer. Sasuke didn't do anything.

Suddenly he dodged all of Yoroi's punches. A smirk came to his face. With an amazing speed, he ducked and kicked Yoroi's jaw, sending him flying upwards. Everyone gasps. _That's Lee's move! _**(A/N: **I realise that Sasuke didn't have the Sharingan when he fought Lee, but I didn't know how else to change it. I'll make it that he remembered how to do it from watching him, without the Sharingan.**)**

Lee's and Gai's mouths dropped as they also realized that.

_I can't believe that bastard copied Lee's move!_ Naruto thought.

Sasuke appeared below Yoroi while Yoroi hovered above Sasuke.

"I'll admit that I borrowed (Naruto snorted at that) that one but from here on out its all original." Sasuke said pressing two fingers on Yoroi's back.

"This is the end."

Sasuke was about to strike when the mark on his neck started to glow. Kakashi narrowed his eyes at that.

Sasuke gritted his teeth. The mark slowly started to retreat until there were only the three black commas on Sasuke's neck. He smirked and kicked Yoroi's left side but Kabuto's teammate blocked it with his arm. Then surprising everyone Sasuke raised his right fist and punched Yoroi's jaw. The ninja started falling upside down but Sasuke's attack wasn't over yet. He kicked Yoroi's chest with full strength.

"Lion's Barrage!" Sasuke yelled as everyone's eyes widened.

The force of the attack sent the Sasuke backwards, landing on his chest. Yoroi let out a wince of pain and stood on the floor defeated. Sasuke slowly sat up breathing heavily and wiped a fillet of blood from his mouth.

Hayate walked to Yoroi to check his conditions even though there was no need for that. It was obvious who the winner was.

"I will stop this match now." The proctor stated. "The first match winner is Uchiha Sasuke. He passes the preliminary round."

The boy was exhausted. Sasuke's eyelids started to close and he was about to fall backwards when a cloud of smoke appeared behind him. Sasuke ended up leaning against Kakashi-sensei's knee while the jounin lazily read his perverted book.

"Good job," Kakashi complimented, causing Sasuke to smirk.

"Yaay! Go Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shouted, and Ino glared at her.

A group of medic-ninjas walked into the arena and took Yoroi in a stretcher. One of them walked towards Sasuke with a serious expression.

"Uchiha Sasuke, we'll give you the best treatment we can."

"This isn't your field," Kakashi-sensei said calmly. The medic sent him a confused look.

"I'll take him," Kakashi-sensei kneeled down and whispered something in Sasuke's ear. His eyes widened, but no one else seemed to notice. Naruto frowned, but even with his hearing, he couldn't make out what he said. _Looks like Kakashi-sensei knows…_

Everyone's attention turned to the electric board, which started sorting the names again. Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei stopped walking for a moment to see who would be fighting next. Everyone held their breath as the two fighters' names were displayed.

**Haruno Sakura vs. Yamanaka Ino**

The two girls looked at each other in surprise, before Ino smirked.

"Haha! Time for me to show you my skills!"

Sakura glared at her.

"Fat chance, Ino-pig!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.- (Sorry about this, the source for my Naruto story disappeared… sorry for apologising so much… arrrhhh!)

_Bang!_

The two girls punched each other, and knocked each other out. Everyone watched them with wide eyes. None of them moved.

Hayate checked them both, then announced, "Both are unable to fight. They will both be eliminated."

Kakashi and Asuma appeared to take their unconscious students back up to the balcony.

The teams looked at them as they lay against the wall, sleeping.

"They don't even require medical treatment." Asuma said. "They'll wake up in a bit."

"Misumi Tsurugi vs. Kankuro." Hayate announced.

Kankuro and Kabuto's other strange teammate walking down to the arena. They stood in the middle of the field facing each other.

"I must warn you. Once my move gets a hold of you, it's over." Misumi said in a threatening tone. "Give up and I'll finish this quickly anyway."

"Then..." Kankuro took the bundle out of his back with a smirk. "I'll finish the match quickly too."

They glared at each other. Hayate nodded. "Begin the third match."

Misumi darted towards Kankuro. "Victory goes to the swiftest!" Suddenly Misumi's arm started to stretch like rubber and clenched around Kankuro's whole body, causing him to drop his bandaged bundle. Misumi's legs around his legs, arms around arms and neck, and Misumi's head stood behind Kankuro's.

Naruto's eyes widened in curiosity.

"Woah! What's with his body?"

"I don't know what kind of tool you use…" Misumi said as Kankuro tried uselessly to escape from his grip. "…But there's no point to it if I immobilize your body like this. I can break your neck, as well. Hurry up and give up."

The Suna ninja smirked.

"No."

"Do you want to die?" Misumi asked, tightening his grip.

"Idiot. You're the one who's going to die."

There was a loud crack. Everyone's eyes widened drastically as they saw Kankuro's head dangling down on his neck.

"His neck is broken!" Lee exclaimed horrified.

Gaara's team was the only ones not affected at all.

"How stupid," Gaara scowled.

Kankuro's face started to crack. Pieces of his skin fell on the ground.

Kankuro's head spun to face Misumi and we could see his face clearly now, and how it was only a puppet.

"What?" Misumi asked with wide eyes.

"Now it's my turn," Kankuro's puppet spoke.

The rest of his skin peeled off and his arms became brown, wooden and thin as they clenched around Misumi's body. A hand came out of the fallen bundle and started to take off the bandages. Kankuro was kneeled on the floor holding the bandages with one hand while the other glowed blue with his chakra. Blue strings were coming out of his hands, controlling the puppet. The puppet's grip on Misumi tightened. The man struggled, but it was useless.

"You can't become more elastic if I break your bones," Kankuro mocked.

Unable to resist anymore, Misumi fell on the floor with the puppet on the top of him. Hayate coughed before announcing the winner. "Since his opponent is unable to fight, the winner is Kankuro."

"I-It's two a-against one. Isn't t-that unfair?" Hinata asked.

"It's not unfair, as it is only a doll," Kurenai said.

"He controlled the marionette with his chakra," Lee said. "It's a mere tool, like a shuriken."

**

* * *

A/N: Ah, I'm going to stop here now. I'm sorry for the wait, and I'm sorry if this seems rushed to you. I still don't know how I'm gonna join Naruto and Hinata together yet :P but I'll work something out.**


	28. Command and Obey

A/N: Hello all those still following! I know sorry isn't good enough, but all the same, I am sorry… I am so lazy. I'm sorry if this is too light-hearted, this story was intended to be more serious… but it's so darn funny! I'm sorry if anyone stops reading this story because of that…

* * *

**Command and Obey**

_**Last time~**_

_"Since his opponent is unable to fight, the winner is Kankuro."_

_"I-It's two a-against one. Isn't t-that unfair?" Hinata asked._

"_It's not unfair, as it is only a doll," Kurenai said._

_"He controlled the marionette with his chakra." Lee said. "It's a mere tool, like a shuriken."_

_-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-_

_(I am going to skip some fights, because they are hard to do, sorry.)_

"Alright, the next two to fight is…"

The board flashed through several names, and then eventually landed on…

"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" two loud cries resounded.

**Uzumaki Naruto vs. Inuzuka Kiba**

The two combatants looked at each other and growled.

"You are going down, Whiskers!" Kiba shouted.

"In your dreams, Dog Breath!" Naruto shouted back.

"Hey, my breath does not smell like a dog's!"

"I wasn't talking about your breath, I was talking about you!"

"Why you-!"

_-Cough, cough-_

Everyone looked at Hayate.

"Could the two people whose names are on the board please come down so we may begin?"

Naruto and Kiba both blushed as they hopped down.

"So Kurenei, do you think your student will win?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes," she replied instantly, "Naruto may be a demon, but from what I know, he doesn't have much skill in taijutsu, and he doesn't have many ninjutsu either. Kiba and Akamaru together would be hard to beat."

"Hmm, I think you will be surprised."

"Hehe, I'm so gonna beat you, cause I know you suck at fighting! In fact, I'm gonna fight you without Akamaru!" Kiba shouted.

Kurenei twitched while Kakashi smiled.

"You're just wasting your advantage!"

"I don't need him to beat you!"

They both charged.

And, my friends, in the times to come, ninja from all villages will tell stories to their children, and they will tell their children. The story of the weirdest fight ever.

They ran towards each other, raising their fist to punch, when…

"HOLY SHIT!" they both shouted, simultaneously stopping in their tracks and leaping back a few couple of metres.

Then promptly held their noses.

"Whed was da lasd dime you had a batd?" Kiba shouted. (When was the last time you had a bath?)!

"FYI, we jusd came from da Foresd ov Deatsh!" Naruto shouted back. (FYI(For Your Information), we just came form the Forest of Death!)

"Well you week!" (Well you reek!)

"You sdink worse den me!" (You stink worse than, me!)

"How would you know? You ah smelling youshelf twendy-fuow seven!" (How would you know? You are smelling yourself twenty-four seven!)

"Gwww! Ogay Giba! Led's fidish dis!" he shouted, pointing with the hand that wasn't holding his nose. (Grrr! Okay Kiba! Let's finish this!)

"You dook da words wight ouda my moush!" (You took the words right outta my mouth!)

"Uwaaaaaaa!" they both shouted and charged, though they ran awkwardly with one hand constantly holding their nose.

Kiba aimed a punch at Naruto's face, but Naruto ducked and head butted his stomach, before kneeing the face that had doubled over. (On the forehead, so not Kiba's hand (which is still holding his nose)) Kiba flew back, but steadied himself and landed on his feet.

"How'd you like dat!" Naruto shouted triumphantly.

Up in the stands… everyone was falling over in the shame of being in the same village as the two fighters.

"Couldn't they just hold their breath?" Asuma wondered.

"Of course," Kakashi replied simply.

"…"

Back down in the arena…

"Ged a load of my judsuuuu…" Naruto trailed off as he realised he couldn't use hand signs with one on his nose. He growled in frustration and took out one of his swords instead. There was a loud clapping noise as everyone watching slapped their face.

"Ha! Ya dink a puny sord is gonna helb you bead me?" (Ha! You think a puny sword is gonna help you beat me?) Kiba said as he took out a few shuriken and threw them. Naruto deflected them with his sword and charged. Kiba was forced to take out a kunai to block the strikes from the blond. To most people's surprise, Naruto had the upper-hand, and Kiba couldn't attack.

By now, Ino and Sakura had woken and were now watching the match with interest.

"Hey Sakura, is Naruto left handed?"

"Um, I don't know…" then she realised why Ino asked. Naruto was fighting with his left hand only.

Kakashi butted in, "Well, it would make sense if he is ambidextrous. He has two swords."

"Oh… right." It was the first time she thought about that.

Naruto swung down on Kiba's head, and he blocked with his kunai. Kiba was holding up well, until he realised the sword started glowing red. Kiba leapt away as his kunai was sliced cleanly in half and carried on through the ground, cutting a gash in the floor about 20cm deep.

"Watda hell?" Kiba exclaimed. (What the hell?)

"Heh, I can beatd you widoud any jutsu!" (Heh, I can beat you without any jutsu!)

Kiba growled, and cried out loudly, "Agamawu!" (Akamaru!)

Akamaru barked and charged Naruto… then turned around and ran back to where he was sitting before.

"Whatd's da madder, Agamawu?" (What's the matter, Akamaru?)

"Arf! Arf!"

"Yeah I know. He does sdink."

"Oi! I heard dat!"

"Hf, well iv you aren'd using any judsu, then I won'd eider." He took out another kunai and charged. Kiba stabbed at Naruto's stomach while ducking the swing from his sword. Naruto dived over him and flipped so he landed facing Kiba.

"Neva have yuow back towads da enemy!" Naruto shouted and flung his sword up into the air. (Never have your back towards the enemy!)

As Kiba was turning his head left, Naruto kicked with his right leg at Kiba's left, making him slightly unbalanced. Using the momentum, Naruto pirouetted anti-clockwise while swinging his leg up, kicking the side of Kiba's head with his heel dead on.

Let's just say Kiba would have a bad bruise to his head and a skid mark on the other side seeing as he slid face first on the ground.

A dazed Kiba struggled to get up, and watchers stared as the forgotten sword was falling blade down towards Kiba's neck. It was stopped just before hitting by Naruto catching the handle.

"Give up." Naruto said, the sword still in his hand above Kiba.

Kiba scowled and slammed his fist into the ground. "I forfeit," he eventually said before gagging. His hand had let go of his nose when he was kicked.

"Inuzuka Kiba forfeits, the winner is Uzumaki Naruto."

"Whooo, I won!" Naruto shouted, slipping his sword back into its sheath and running up the side of the balcony wall and jumping onto the platform with the other Konoha teams.

Everyone was looking at him with large sweat-drops on their foreheads.

"I didn't realise you and Kiba were related," Shino casually put out.

"WHAAAAAT?" both Kiba and Naruto shouted. (Kiba was coming up the stairs.)

"Yeah I know! They must have been of the same litter!" Ino said, playing along.

"As him! No way in hell!" both shouted.

"Hmm, if you look closely, their resemblance towards each other is quite uncanny," Kakashi said in amusement.

"Kaka-sensei! Not you too!"

"Should we refer to Naruto as Inuzuka Naruto now?" Sakura asked innocently.

"Wha…? No!" Both shouted.

"They even talk simultaneously!" Choji added while munching on some chips.

Kiba and Naruto's shoulders drooped.

"I give up," they both muttered and slinked towards the wall.

Everyone grinned. "Ah, the joys of teasing…"

Hinata walked to Naruto, who was sulking by the wall.

"C-Congratulations on w-wing the fight… u-um, here, N-Naruto," she stuttered out. Naruto looked at her hand, where a jar of ointment sat.

"It's f-for wounds a-and injuries."

Naruto's eyes softened and took the jar. "Thanks, Hinata-chan."

Hinata froze, then turned bright red and fainted.

"Wah! Hinata, are you alright!" he said catching her.

Neji appeared, sending a disapproving look towards Naruto. "What did you say?"

"Um… 'Thanks, Hinata-chan.'?"

"Three words too many." (Chan will become a word here.)

Hinata woke up after a few seconds and squeaked in Naruto's arms. Neji sighed and took the poor, blushing girl away from the reason of said blushing. Everyone turned to see who was fighting next.

**Hyuga Neji vs. Hyuga Hinata**

The room was filled with chatter as they realised that two ninja from the same clan would have to fight each other.

Neji blinked in surprise. _This… could be a problem._ Since Hinata was from the main family, while Neji was only from the branch family. It was the branch family's duty to protect the main family.

They made there way down and faced each other. Hinata trembled in fear. It was not that Neji treated her badly or anything, but she knew he was so much better than her at fighting. She didn't stand a chance.

"I didn't think I'd have to fight you, Hinata-sama."

"N-nor I, brother…"

"Huh? They are brothers and sisters?" Naruto asked quizzically.

"No, they are cousins," Lee replied. "Hinata is from the main family and Neji is from the branch family."

Naruto thought for a moment, before leaning over the rail and shouting, "Ganbatte! Neji, Hinata!"

Hinata blushed. _He's… cheering for me… I have to do my best._

For once in his life, Neji was unsure of himself.

"Neji-san."

Neji looked up at Hinata, who was smiling at him.

"Let's do our best."

Neji blinked, before closing his eyes and smiling.

"Hai, Hinata-sama."

His eyes flashed as his Byakugan was activated, and he charged.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

In the end, Neji had won by forcing Hinata to forfeit. Even though he was told to do his best, Neji still prevented himself from injuring Hinata badly. He came out relatively unscathed.

Hinata stood by the wall silently. Naruto walked up to her and smiled.

"Hey, you were awesome!"

From that one sentence, Hinata's heart burst with joy, and red tainted her cheeks.

Naruto held out the jar of ointment.

"Here, I think you would benefit better from this. I can heal better than humans, so you should use it."

_Doki, doki._ (This is the sound of a heart beat in Japanese. I thought it sounded cool.)

"Arigato, Naruto-kun."

"No problem, Hinata-chan!" he said and turned to look at the board, not noticing Hinata swooning in pleasure, though Neji noticed. _…He'd better treat her well, or else I'll snap his neck. _ He silently vowed.

**Sabaku no Gaara vs. Rock Lee **(Does he have a last name?)

"Yosh! Gai-sensei, it's time for you to witness my youthfulness!"

"Yes Lee! Show everyone just how youthful ninja of Konoha can be!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

"GAIAAAAHH!"

Naruto had pushed Lee into the arena. Luckily Lee righted himself and landed, facing his opponent.

Gaara was a little distracted, instead focusing on Naruto. _The demon… has a strange way of fighting._ Gaara concluded, remembering Naruto's fight with Kiba. _…Perhaps he enjoys fighting with his hand on his nose…_

He didn't have much time to think of anything else as sand pouring out of his gourd instantly threw up a shield, preventing Lee's leg from hitting Gaara's face. Gaara's eyes narrowed. _How dare he, to interrupt my thinking._ The sand swirled around him menacingly.

Up in the stands, Naruto shivered. It had been a while since he had been in any contact with another demon, let alone one of the Bijuu. It wasn't reassuring to know that Shukaku was one psychotic/sadistic demon.

Everyone else was looking at the sand in amazement.

"H-how is that possible!" Ino shouted.

"He wasn't even focusing on Lee, so how did he put up a shield so quickly?" Shikamaru noted.

"That would be Shukaku's doing, I imagine."

Everyone blinked at Naruto.

"Shukaku knows that if Gaara dies, then he dies too, so he is probably protecting his host with sand, to ensure that he doesn't die," Naruto carried on.

"Wait, what's Shukaku?" Sakura asked.

Shikamaru answered. "Shukaku is one of the nine Bijuu. That would mean that Gaara is a Jinchuuriki." He guessed.

_Naruto seems to know a lot about Jinchuuriki… perhaps Kyuubi told him. _Kakashi pondered.

Meanwhile, Lee was having a hard time even hitting Gaara. The speed of his attacks were a blur, yet the sand seemed to be able to see through it and block every single one.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.- (Lee's fight was so complex from what I remember, but I can't find any info detailed enough to write about, sorry!)

The sand wrapped around Lee's left arm and left leg (I think) and held him in the air. Lee was too exhausted from opening the gates to get out, and could only struggle helplessly as the sand constricted on him. Suddenly the sand froze, before falling apart and dropping to the floor, releasing Lee aswell.

Lee looked up at Gaara, but Gaara was looking away from him, up into the balcony. Gaara looked back to Lee quickly, then to Hayate.

"I doubt he is able to fight any longer."

Hayate looked at Lee, who looked to be unable to even raise his head properly.

"As Rock Lee is unable to continue, the winner is Sabaku no Gaara."

As soon as that was said, Gai appeared with the medics. They put Lee on a stretcher and carried him off.

"Will he be alright?" Ino asked worryingly.

"There doesn't seem to be any major damage, it's mostly fatigue from opening five gates… It would have been worse if Gaara had crushed his arm and leg," Kakashi said. _I wonder… Gaara had looked up at Naruto. Did Naruto do something?_

Gaara appeared beside his siblings. Kankuro shuffled a bit, before asking, "Why didn't you kill him?"

Gaara didn't reply for a while, but eventually said, "The Prince did not allow it."

Temari and Kankuro were confused, but let it go.

Naruto tapped his chin, before smirking. _Royalty has its perks._

_**Flashback~**_

_Naruto narrowed his eyes as he watched the battle. Just when it looked like Bushy Brows had won, Gaara appeared as well as ever and had Lee's arm and leg wrapped in sand. _He's gonna crush them._ Knowing Lee only relied on Taijutsu, and injury like that would be devastating. _

_Naruto's eyes flashed red and his demonic chakra flared slightly. No one noticed, except for Gaara. _

_Demons were generally not telepathic, but small commands and emotions could be passed to another with demonic chakra._

_Gaara looked up as he felt demon chakra flicker somewhere. Inside his mind, Shukaku screeched and howled. A second later he knew why. The command resonated clearly inside his head._

_**::Stop::**_

_Without his permission, the sand was out of his control, causing it to release Lee and fall to the ground like normal sand._

_Gaara stared at Naruto, before looking at Lee. _

It is not wise to anger that one. _Gaara thought before deciding to allow this human to live._

_**End Flashback~**_

**

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A/N: **Wow, that was written in two days! Hope you enjoyed it. This is one of my favourite chapters! Any comments please review!


	29. And the Cogs Begin to Turn

**A/N: **Hello my fellow followers~ I still remember when I just started writing this story… Admittedly, I was not very good… Actually, my first chapter story was in fact a Clamp one, but that was so crap that I took it down. I just wanted to thank all of you for reading my story; it's a new year, so let's celebrate! Wow, it's nearly been two years writing this! ^^

* * *

**And the Cogs Begin to Turn**

(I've skipped a few matches…)

Finally after all that fighting, the preliminaries were over. Many people in the room were tired. Anyone who was worse than that were in the medical wing. They gathered on the ground floor in a line in front of Hayate, Anko, Ibiki and the Hokage.

"To those who have made it to the main matches of the Chunin Exams Third Exam… Congratulations! Your main match fights will be shown in front of everyone. We wish for all of you to show off your abilities as your country's representative power. Therefore, the main matches will begin in one month."

"Wow, a whole month?" Sakura mumbled.

"The month will be used as preparation. Time is needed to gather the attending Kage's from the other lands, as well as other things to ensure the exam goes smoothly. It is also a chance for you all to prepare for this tournament. Gather knowledge about your opponent, and hone your skills. Remember, this is a chance for you to become a Chunin."

Anko held a box and walked to the genin.

"Please take out a piece of paper."

Everyone took one out. Naruto looked at his paper, which had the number 5. Naruto winced. _This is probably the line up._

"Now tell me the number you got, starting from the left," Ibiki instructed.

"5," Naruto said.

"4," Temari said.

"8," Kankuro said.

"6," Gaara whispered.

"3," Shikamaru sighed.

"1," Neji said.

"7," Shino said.

The Hokage nodded. "Then Sasuke will be 2. We will now tell you the match-ups for the tournament."

_Thought so… wait… that's means I'm fighting Gaara… _

Neji would fight Sasuke. Shikamaru would fight Temari. And Kankuro would be fighting Shino.

"Now then...It's time for you to go plan your strategies, rest up. Or whatever you please. We're all finished here…unless any of you have questions?"

Shikamaru raised his hand, "May I?"

Hokage nodded, "You may."

"You said this is a tournament, so… there's only one winner, right? Then does that mean that only one of us gets to be Chunin?"

"No, that is not the case. For the finals, you will observe by many judges… not only me, but the Kazekage and the rulers and shinobi leaders of countries that will be requesting missions, as well. Based on your performance in the tournament, those judges will assign you an absolute value and all those who are deemed to have sufficient ability to be a journeyman ninja… even those who may have lost in the first round can be Chunin."

"Do you mean that it's possible that all of us here could become Chunin?" Temari asked.

"Yes. However it is also possible that none of you will become Chunin. Well, then good work all! You are dismissed until one month from now!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Naruto sighed and he sauntered down the street. It was one of those days… you know, the one where you just had the biggest urge to head towards the nearest wall and commence the act of head-banging.

_So troublesome… that__ Gaara guy doesn't look evil… okay maybe he does, but that's all Shukaku's fault. _Naruto flashed back to when he had commanded Gaara to stop crushing Lee's arm and leg. Technically he didn't command Gaara, rather he commanded Shukaku… which was baaad news for Naruto. A pissed off Bijuu is an extremely dangerous Bijuu.

…_I act__ed too irrationally. _

To a 9th class demon such as Shukaku, to be commanded by an inferior 8th class demon such as Naruto was a big blow to his pride. Luckily Shukaku had still been under the effects of the command to attack Naruto… at least he hoped that was it.

Even if Naruto was royalty, being the son of the King of Bijuu, the completely mental Shukaku would likely take offense to being commanded. Demons tended to have that superior complex. Then again, so did humans. Sasuke, for example.

…_Gaara is most likely planning to kill me in the Chunin exams._ Naruto thought cheerily. _Yay…_

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

_**Kill**__** him! KILL HIM! KILL HIM NOW!**_

Gaara gritted his teeth together as Shikaku continued to howl within his mind.

_I thought we were meant to stay away from him._

_**No! Kill him! To be commanded by a lesser demon, such DISGRACE!**_

_He is the son of the King of Bijuu… it would be hard to kill him…_

_**I can feel it… he is weak in his pitiful human body… he can not use his full power- HE'S HERE! KILL!**_

Gaara scanned his surroundings, also feeling the chakra signature of Naruto. He was currently standing on the roof of a tall building. A flash of black and white, and Naruto was now standing a little ways of facing Gaara.

"…Mother wants to kill you."

Naruto winced. "Thought so. How bout we make a deal."

Gaara stayed silent, which Naruto took as a sign to carry on.

"Wait until the Chunin exams. Since we are going to be fighting each other, you can kill me then, but not now… we might injure or kill innocent villagers."

"…I could hardly care for the villagers… so what's to stop me from just killing you now?"

A smile stretched across Naruto's face.

"You know, I'm just a clone."

Sand suddenly shot out from Gaara's gourd and pierced through Naruto's chest.

_Poof._

The clone disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Another clone appeared next to where the previous clone was standing.

"I told you so. So do we have a deal?"

The sand wrapped around the new clone's body.

"I could just find you and kill you," Gaara said.

"You could, but I wouldn't put up much of a fight. Don't you want to kill me as I try my hardest to survive? Wouldn't that just make you feel… _alive_?"

Gaara's eyes widened, and Naruto smirked. _Bingo._

Gaara's sand relinquished its hold on Naruto, despite Shukaku's howling protests in his mind.

"Very well, Uzumaki Naruto. I'll wait until the exams. Then I'll kill you. Make me feel alive."

Naruto's eyes softened.

"I'm... sorry."

Gaara narrowed his eyes in confusion." For what?"

"For you having to live with Shukaku… your life must have been hard."

Gaara said nothing.

"You know…" Naruto said as he brought up a kunai to his own neck. "We could always be friends."

_Poof._

Gaara was left standing on the rooftop alone.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Naruto paused mid-step as the clone's memories transferred to his mind. His own eyes softened. No child should ever live the life of a Jinchuuriki. None.

Naruto shook his head. _ I need to focus! I need to find a sensei to teach me…_

_**Flashback~**_

"_Kakashi-sensei!"_

_Kakashi turned to see Naruto running towards him._

"_Oh, are you here to see Sasuke?" Kakashi asked._

"…_I suppose, but I also wanted to ask you something."_

"_Yes?"_

"_Will you be teaching Sasuke this month?"_

_Kakashi sighed. "It looks like I will be, since Sasuke has now unlocked the Sharingan. As I am the only person left who has the Sharingan, the village council wishes for me to focus all my attention to Sasuke."_

"_Then who will be teaching me?"_

"_I asked, and they said Ebisu would be adequate."_

_Naruto frowned._

_Kakashi's eye crinkled and he lent down to Naruto._

"_Being the ninja that I am, I hear lots of things. One of them is that there is a very powerful white-haired ninja currently doing research in Konoha. You should try to get him to teach you."_

"_I doubt a stranger would want to teach a demon."_

"_Heh, I think you'll be surprised. Just say your name, and I guarantee he will teach you."_

_Naruto's eyes gleamed with excitement. "Really? Yay!" he shouted and bounded off._

_Kakashi smiled and proceeded to read his orange book._

"_Of course. He has been putting it off for 11 years after all." _

**(I'm so stupid! I was reading back on my story when I realised that in chapter 18, I implied that Naruto was taken to Konoha 12 years ago, but I keep forgetting that Naruto was turned into a one year old! Waah!)**

_**End Flashback~**_

If what Kakashi had told him was true, there was a powerful ninja somewhere in Konoha, that apparently would be more than willing to teach Naruto. The problem was finding said ninja.

"Hehe, that's right, just turn a little more…"

Naruto stopped in his tracks.

In front of him was… a frog?

"…"

Naruto then noticed there was someone on top of the abnormally large frog. It was a man wearing sandals and read clothing. His long hair was white and spiky and tied up in a low pony tail. He also happened to be peeping over the fence into the girl's bathhouse with a handheld telescope.

"…Oi…"

"Oh yes, this is great research, hehehee…"

"…Excuse m-"

"Perfect material for my next book…"

Naruto twitched, then took a large breath…

"PERVERT! THERE'S A PERVERT!"

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA~~~~~!"

"WAH! NO I'M NOT-"

"GET HIM!"

"AHHH!"

"HE'S RUNNING AWAY! GET HIM!"

"I'M INNOCENT! INNOCENT!"

"YOU ARE DEAD!"

"GET US OUTTA HERE ITSUKI!"

"RIBIT!"

_Leap!_

A few leaps later, Itsuki (the toad) landed on a roof far away from the killer women.

"Phew, that was a close one. I wonder how I was found out…" The man said as he got off the toad.

"Oh I dunno, maybe it was the fact that you were looking over a fence giggling with a large nosebleed."

"Yeah, that could have been- wait- who are you?"

Naruto grinned as he casually sat on the toad's back.

"Who me?"

"Yes you!"

"Couldn't be~"

"…Eh?"

"Haha, nothing~ Anyway-" Naruto started.

"You! You're the one who shouted 'Pervert'!"

"Oh goody, you know your own name!" Naruto laughed in joy.

"Oi brat! Do you know who I am?"

"I have a hunch it starts with P and ends with T…"

"I am the great Sannin Jiraiya the Toad Sage! Shinobi from every land fear my awesome power!"

Naruto thought for a moment.

"White hair, check. A ninja, check. Powerful… debatable…"

"Hey, I am powerful! I'm one of the three great Sannin! Haven't you heard of me?"

"Hmmm, can't say I have."

"Why you-"

"Do you know Kakashi-sensei?"

That stopped him.

"Kakashi? Oh, Minato's little brat! Face covered? Left eye covered?"

"That's him! You must be him then!"

"I must be who?"

"You're gonna get me ready for the Chunin exam final."

"Woah, woah, wait a minute. Why would I teach you?"

"Well Kakashi-sensei said that as soon as you heard my name, you were guaranteed to teach me."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow.

"Oh really? Alright brat, what's your name?"

"I'm not a brat! My name is Uzumaki Naruto, genin of Konoha."

Jiraiya stood still.

"…You'll pay for this, Kakashi…"

Far away, a certain jounin sneezed.

Jiraiya sighed and turned back to Naruto.

"To think I'd finally meet the son of the Kyuubi no Kitsune."

Naruto looked surprised.

"Oh, so you know me."

"Indeed I do, Naruto. Very well, I'll train you like I promised."

"Yay! Wait, when did you promise anything?"

"I promised Hiruzen that I'd become your sensei when you were old enough, after I had searched for Minato." Jiraiya said.

"Who's Minato?" Naruto questioned. Jiraiya looked towards the left. Naruto followed, and saw the Hokage mountain, where four Hokage's heads had been carved into the cliff face…

"The Yondaime Hokage?"

"Yup, that's right, brat. At the time when the Kyuubi gave you to us to care for, Minato had been the Hokage, but he had been away on a diplomatic errand. But he never returned. He disappeared, as well as the shinobi accompanying him. Not even a single body was found, so there was always a chance he was still alive." Jiraiya sighed. "I haven't found anything yet…"

"I thought the Yondaime Hokage had been killed outside of Konoha?"

"Yeah, that was the story told to everyone. No-one knows the truth except for the high council, the Hokage and me. It was kept a secret."

"…Wow…"

"Hm, well now I'm stuck with a brat like you."

"I'm not a brat!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Well that was fun!" Kisame said joyfully as he wrapped bandage around his sword.

Itachi sighed as he looked at the eight bodies at their feet.

"There was no need to kill them, Kisame."

"I know, but they attacked us first, what was I supposed to do?"

"They were just bandits, not even ninja."

"Yeah, well they probably should have thought twice before attacking me."

Itachi sighed again before making a few hand signs, then blowing out fire onto the bodies. The super hot flames effectively burned the bodies, and in a matter of minutes, there was nothing but ash.

"Come on, we still have a job to do."

"Yeah, yeah."

* * *

**A/N:** Finished! Please review and tell me your thoughts! I would love to hear them! It's a little shorter than last one, but I'll make it up with this little teaser that will hopefully have you begging me for more! :P

* * *

"_Everything is going smoothly__, and Konoha is none the wiser," Kabuto replied with a smirk._

"_Excellent. Soon, Konoha, you will fall. Ahh, what a sight it will be, seeing your precious village burn, isn't that right…"_

_Orochimaru knelt down and stroked, almost fondly, the face of the body on the floor._

"…_my dear Yondaime…" _


	30. Stuttering is Transferable

**A/N:** Omg, I cannot believe I did that. So, is he alive or not? If you all still remember the prologue of this story, I said that the Yondaime was dead… please forgive me, I'm not very good at thinking ahead, and worse two years ago, so just ignore that…

But I've got big plans for the Yondaime~ Meheheeee!

* * *

**Stuttering is Transferable**

"Alright brat! Let's see how well your chakra control is first, m'kay?"

"Stop calling me brat!" was Naruto's reply.

Jiraiya just laughed and pointed to the water. Naruto obediently walked up to and onto it, automatically directing the red chakra to his feet. Naruto had pretty much perfected it, and there were almost no ripples on the surface of the water.

"Not bad, brat. It's not easy to control such a large amount of chakra."

"Meh, to me this is a normal amount of chakra, it's just big compared to normal humans."

Jiraiya nodded, "True, true… but you act so much like a brat I sometimes forget."

"Brat?"

"Haha, okay, let's move on, shall we? How are you at Taijutsu?"

"I'm alright, not the best, I'll admit."

"Alright, show me what you got," Jiraiya said as he got into a defensive stance. "Don't use any jutsu or your swords."

Naruto nodded and charged.

10 minutes later, Naruto was thrown to the ground for the 5th time.

"Owwee…" Naruto whined.

"You ain't half bad, brat! You have good speed and excellent strength, but you need to read my movements and counter more efficiently. Don't waste any movements, that will just slow you down and use up energy."

Naruto got up from the ground, rubbing his butt. "I understand."

"Great! You said you practice with shadow clones? That's good, but you also need someone else, like me, since you are pretty much fighting yourself, meaning you know their moves already. Let's see your Kenjutsu then, how good are you with your wakizashi?"

Naruto took out his swords.

"Are you ambidextrous?"

"Demons don't actually have a dominant hand. That would just hinder us."

"Oh, never thought of that before-" Jiraiya dodged an attack and took out his kunai to fight.

_Clash, thump, swipe, slash._ They fought for a while, though Naruto was generally on the defensive. Slowly, Naruto got used to Jiraiya's style and was able to even the match. Using the swords' skill, they extended from his arm for more flexibility, and when Jiraiya blocked a strike the swords curved inwards. He was forced to jump back or get cut.

"Impressive swords you have there."

Naruto smiled fondly, "Yeah, I know. They were a present."

"Right, we'll stop there. You are good at handling your swords, use the sword's abilities cleverly to get the most out of them. How many jutsu do you know?"

"Not many. I know the Shadow Clone, Super Flame Bullets, False Flame, Induced Dreams… I can use Fox Soul, but only when I have a three tailed cloak on, which is quite draining."

Jiraiya blinked. "Right, I don't recognise all of them, but I'll take your word for it."

He tapped his chin in thought. "Are you able to make contracts with summoning animals?"

Naruto blinked. "I don't know… I don't think so though. And if I did, it would probably have to be with foxes."

"Ah, then I guess you can't make a contract with toads like I have."

"Toads? Oh, you mean that frog you were standing on yesterday while peeping into the women's bathhouse?"

"I wasn't peeping! I was doing research for my books! The Icha Icha series!"

"Wait, don't tell me that you write those perverted books!" Naruto shouted, pointing the blame finger at Jiraiya.

"So even youngsters like you know about it? They are more famous than I thought!"

Without either noticing, Hinata hesitantly walked up to the bickering duo. She had just been around when she had heard Naruto's voice, and she wanted to congratulate him properly for getting into the finals.

"Kakashi-sensei reads them all the time!"

"He has good taste in literature."

"It's not literature! It's porn!"

"It's not porn!"

"Yes it is! Porn! Porn porn porn porn porn!"

_Thump._

"Eh?" Both ninja turned to the ground, where Hinata had fainted.

"Wah, Hinata! Are you okay?" Naruto shouted and gently shook her. Hinata blinked, and froze in Naruto's arms.

"N-Narut-to, I-I-I… … u-um… t-t-treat y-you to l-l-l-lunch-" By now she had gone beet red from embarrassment.

Naruto blinked as he processed what Hinata said. "Wow really? I'd love too! You're the best! We can go to Ichiraku Ramen!"

Hinata smiled dazedly in joy as her secret crush smiled at her brightly. Unfortunately for her, Naruto was a bit too dense on the whole love thing.

"Hey Pervy Sage, am I allowed too… what are you smiling about?"

The whole time, Jiraiya had been grinning wider than a Cheshire cat.

"Pervy Sage?"

"Oh right," he said, snapping out of it, "Of course you can. Meet me here tomorrow at the same time, I'll be teaching you a new jutsu!"

"Will do!" He shouted and dragged Hinata to Ichiraku's.

Jiraiya giggled after the disappearing pair. "Ah young love! I feel sorry for the girl, seeing as Naruto can't see her feelings at all! But persist, young one! You'll get him eventually! And provide great inspiration for my books~"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Somewhere unknown, Orochimaru turned his head towards the door as it was opened, and Kabuto stepped inside. He walked towards Orochimaru and bowed, also noting a body lying motionless beside him.

"Lord Orochimaru," Kabuto said in greeting.

"Ah, Kabuto. How is Sasuke?"

"He's coping well, but his curse mark was sealed."

"Yes, I already know that. My summon had paid him a visit before when the mark was being sealed. What about the plan?"

"Everything is going smoothly, and Konoha is none the wiser," Kabuto replied with a smirk.

"Excellent. Soon, Konoha. You will fall. Ahh, what a sight it will be, seeing your precious village burn, isn't that right…"

Orochimaru knelt down and stroked, almost fondly, the face of the body on the floor.

"…my dear Yondaime…"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Naruto and Hinata walked side by side towards Ichiraku. The whole time, Hinata was sighing in pleasure. _He's walking beside me… my heart is beating so fast._

"Hey Hinata."

Hinata jerked her head.

"Y-yes, Naruto?"

"Your really kind, to treat me to lunch."

Hinata blushed.

"O-oh, well I n-never really got to thank you for saving me properly, so this can b-be a congratulations a-aswell as a thank you." Hinata surprised herself at how well she was talking.

Naruto smiled. "There's no need to thank me. There was no way I'd let that Kumo nin just kidnap you if I could help it."

They reached the small stall and went inside.

"Welcome! Oh, it's Naruto! And you brought a friend!" Teuchi said heartily.

"Yeah! Her name's Hyuga Hinata, I'll be treating her to lunch."

Hinata looked at him in surprise. "B-but-"

"No, no, how could I let you treat me? I've got enough money from missions, plenty to pay for our food, so it's okay!"

Hinata smiled. _Naruto is so generous to me…_

"What would you like?" Teuchi asked.

"I'd like one bowl of miso ramen please," Naruto ordered.

"I'll h-have a seafood ramen."

"Coming right up!"

A couple of minutes later, both genin had a steaming bowl of ramen in front of them. Naruto happily dug in, relishing the flavour. There was just something about the noodles… or maybe it was the fact that the swirly fishcake topping was his name… Regardless, it was his favourite food.

"Are you gonna watch my fight, Hinata?" Naruto asked, turning to his companion/hidden date. Hinata was eating the ramen relatively normally, though she had been taught since she was young to eat with etiquette. A little hard to do with ramen.

"Y-yes, I'll be watching." _I wouldn't miss it for the world…_

Naruto grinned in happiness and continued to eat. After they'd finished, Naruto offered to walk her to the Hyuga clan compound, to which she shyly agreed to.

Ichiraku wasn't to far from the compound, and they leisurely walked along the roads. A nearby stall was selling red dango (I think) on sticks, and the young woman selling them noticed them.

"Excuse me, would you like to try some dango for free? I'm new, and I was wondering whether it was good or not."

"Sure!" Naruto answered happily and they both took a stick with three balls each. They both ate one.

"Wow, these are great!" Naruto told the young woman. She beamed in reply.

"Really?"

Hinata smiled at her. "They are r-really good, I'm s-sure many people will b-buy your dango."

The woman laughed happily and said, "Thank you so much! You can keep those. Have a nice day!"

"You too," they replied and walked off.

The woman sighed after them. "They look so cute together!"

Naruto and Hinata continued to walk while finishing their dango, watching as a giggling little girl ran past them. Suddenly a little boy knocked into Hinata from behind, causing her dango to fall out of her hands and onto the ground.

"Oi!" Naruto shouted after him, but he was too busy playing tag with the girl to notice, and they soon disappeared,

"Are you okay?" Naruto asked.

"H-Hai," Hinata replied back, and glanced back at the fallen dango.

(Here begins my first attempt at fluffiness ever~~ Probably cliché too…)

Naruto looked at the dango on the ground, then at his own lone dango on his stick, before holding it up to Hinata's face without a second thought.

"Here Hinata! You can have mine."

Hinata's brain short-circuited.

"I-I-I-I-I c-c-ca-a-"

"Sure you can, here," Naruto said and took Hinata's hand and put the stick there. Hinata stared at her hand in Naruto's, then started to sway like a leaf. A bright red leaf.

"Hinata? Are you okay?" Naruto asked distressingly.

Hinata snapped back into reality and held Naruto's dango to her chest.

"Thank you," she uttered, her eyes half-lidded in joy and her head tilted to the side.

Naruto blinked, then blushed.

"Y-You're welcome, H-Hinata-chan," Naruto stuttered.

The two stood there blushing like idiots for a while, both trying to right themselves.

_Oh Kami, _Naruto thought, _If Father saw me now… he would laugh his ass off… Have I… fallen for a human?_

It wasn't unknown for demons to love humans. It was just uncommon, as it was usually either: demon rapes human, demon lures human, or human does not even realise they are in love with an actual demon. Only high classed demons had the emotion of love.

They were eventually able to get it together, and carried on to the Hyuga compound. They arrived without too much trouble, but just as Naruto was about to say his good-bye, the guard at the gate took one look at Naruto and hissed out, "What are you doing here, demon? What did you do to Hinata-sama?"

Naruto glared back, "I didn't do anything to Hinata!" he said defensively.

"Liar! Get away from Hinata-sama right now! A filthy demon like you has no right to be so close to her! Go die in a hole, demon!"

Hinata exploded right then and there.

"_You_ have not right to talk to Naruto like that! You don't even know him and yet you have the courage to tell him to _go die_! Who are you to tell me who I can and cannot be with?"

Naruto blinked, and the guard flinched. It was well known that The Hyuga heiress was a very shy girl who never raised her voice. Until now.

"M-My apologies, H-Hinata-sama! I-It was r-rude of m-me to talk l-like that…" He stuttered while bowing down low.

Hinata was breathing heavily from the vent.

Naruto laughed, then turned to Hinata.

"There was no need to defend me, Hinata." _I'm used to it._

Hinata calmed, then blushed madly at what she had just done.

"…You can also stop pointing your dango at him now…."

She only just noticed that she had been pointing the stick with the single red dango on it at the poor guard. (She hadn't eaten it yet.)

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Hyuga Neji had just finished training, and was walking down one of the compound's outside corridors when he noticed Hinata standing a little ways in front of him. Neji reached her, but she didn't seem to notice, and seemed to be very busy staring dazedly at a wall and clutching at a dango stick in her hand.

"…Hinata-sama?"

She jumped and faced her cousin.

"N-Neji-san…"

"Are you alright?" he asked in concern.

"I'm f-fine."

Neji looked at the dango in her hands.

"You bought dango?"

Hinata looked at the dango with glittering eyes, and in a flash the whole dango was in her mouth. She twirled around and floated off, chewing slowly and hugging the skewer.

Neji blinked.

"…"

_Uzumaki Naruto… what the hell have you done to Hinata-sama…_

_-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-_

Gaara sat alone on the roof of the building he was staying in.

_"I'm... sorry."_

Gaara frowned. No-one had ever said sorry to him before. After all, who would say sorry to an unstable Jinchuuriki like him?

_"For you having to live with Shukaku… your life must have been hard."_

They way Naruto had said that… it was so foreign to Gaara. It was of understanding. _He… is like me… and yet not like me…_ Whereas Gaara was unfeeling, cold, and would kill anyone who stood in his way without a second thought, Naruto was bright, full of emotions, and happy. He was happy.

_Am… I happy? No. _He hardly even knew what that emotion was.

_"You know… we could always be friends."_

Gaara sat unmoving.

_Would that…_

Temari jumped onto the roof, though a good distance away from Gaara.

"Gaara, dinner is ready,"

He stood up without a word and followed her inside.

…_Would that make me happy?_

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The poor rabbit didn't stand a chance.

Kisame grinned at the struggling rabbit, before snapping its neck. He made his way back to the temporary camp-site and proceeded to skin and roast the rabbit over the open fire.

Itachi appeared silently and without warning, though Kisame wasn't the slightest bit fazed.

"So? Can we go get him now or what?"

"…Sasori has advised us to wait."

"What? We've already waited for ages!"

"Patience, Kisame. Konohagakure is currently holding the Chunin exams."

"Isn't that even better? We can grab the brat while everyone is preparing."

"Sasori has informed me that there will be an attack on the Leaf during the Chunin exam final."

Kisame immediately brightened up.

"Really? Can I kill people then?"

"No."

Kisame pouted.

"There is guaranteed to be confusion after the attack. Though I doubt Konoha will lose, they will have taken a lot of damage. It is during that time that we will take Kyuubi's son."

"Why not during? There'd be much more confusion."

"The boy in fighting in the final rounds, and there will be the most ninja around him, so it would be bothersome trying to take him unnoticed."

Kisame grumbled.

"I don't see why we have to be so discreet, it's not like they won't realise when he goes missing."

"Do not underestimate Konoha shinobi. Even we could have a hard time against shinobi such as Hatake Kakashi, or Maito Gai."

"Fine, we'll wait until after the exams…"

* * *

**A/N:** Fast update right? Well I wanted to finish this quickly cause I'm going on a holiday to Picton (though you probably won't know it… I live in New Zealand, remember?) Anyway, I'm sorry if Hinata seems too OOC to you, but many had asked for more NaruHina, so I tried to write this… Please tell me what you think!

I'm playing **Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 5** again, and it is so fun! ^^

Review please! But I won't be able to reply for about seven days as I'll be in Picton.

* * *

_**Omake~ **__like I promised ages ago…_

Hinata furiously pointed her dango stick at the guard.

"_You_ have not right to talk to Naruto like that! You don't even know him and yet you have the courage to tell him to _go die_! Who are you to tell me who I can and cannot be with? _**Avada Kedavra!**_"

Nothing happened.

"Umm, maybe you need an actual wand to do that, Hinata…" Naruto said.

"Aww, but I was sure this would do. I heard that Dango with pine wood core would be very powerful…"

The forgotten guard suddenly shouted, "I am Lord Voldemort! Bow down before me!"

Naruto blinked.

"Volde-who?"

"Voldemort!"

"Volde-shorts?"

"Voldemort!"

"Mouldy-mort?"

"VOLDEMORT YOU NINCOMPOOP!"

"…Ice cream?"

"ARRRRRGGGGHHHHHHH!"

"…"

"…"

"Are you related to Orochimaru by any chance?"

_**Owari~**_

_P.S. I do not own Harry Potter._


	31. Interlude – A Hero's Fall

**A/N:** Hello! I feel really happy about my story now! I think it's improved a lot from when I first started, which is good. I'm learning as I go!

I also finished my one-shot called **A Million Times**, where I killed off Naruto.

…

Hmm, that was a bad way to put it. What I meant to say was that he turned into a ghost and sorta reminisces on life and his brother, Minato.

Please have a read!

I know neither Kushina nor Minato's personality well, so I'll be portraying how I want them to be. I'm sorry if they seem too OOC to you.

* * *

**Interlude – A Hero's Fall**

Paperwork was one of the lesser joys of being Hokage, though at the moment, Minato was considering putting it right at the bottom.

He rubbed his eyes blearily and sighed as he stamped another piece of paper. Minato looked at the next piece of paper, saw the seal and promptly swore.

"Is that any way for a Hokage to act?"

Minato looked up from his chair and smiled gently at the woman standing in front of him. She had long bright red hair that flowed to her calves, and soft grey eyes, though at the moment they were full of amusement and she was smirking at the blond Hokage.

"Sorry, Kushina. It's just that anything from the Daimyo is generally unpleasant," he said, standing up as Kushina walked towards him. They shared a quick kiss in greeting and stayed close to each other. Kushina plucked the piece of paper from his hands and read over it.

"Dear Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato. I would like to ask you to discuss matters concerning blah blah blah… well this is boring."

Minato laughed and took the paper back.

"It may be boring, but if it's from the Daimyo it's considered important."

He scanned the rest himself, before sighing.

"The Daimyo wants me to discuss diplomatic relationships with Sunagakure. Preferably as soon as possible. It looks like I'll be away for a few days."

"Oh… when will you leave?"

"I guess when I sort out who will be going with me. Probably an Anbu squad would do. I don't think there is too much danger."

Kushina perked up. "I don't have any missions currently, so can I come with you?"

Minato blinked. "It's only a diplomatic errand. Suna can get pretty hot."

"Does that mean you think I can't take a little heat?" she said with a pout.

Minato hugged her and chuckled.

"Of course not, my sweet wife. If you want to, then I would love for you to come with me."

Kushina started becoming gushy at this moment. Anyone could see that Minato and Kushina were madly in love with each other.

"Ah, my sweet husband. Show me how much you'd love for me to come~"

Minato kissed her again.

"If I could, I would catch all the stars in the sky and give them to you~"

Kushina giggled in happiness.

"Oh will you two lovebirds wait till you're in your own house?"

Both ninja turned to the window, and were unsurprised to find Jiraiya crouched in it.

"Go write you porn," Kushina said bluntly, irritated at he intrusion.

"Now, now, Kushi-chan, don't be so harsh," Minato said, before turning to Jiraiya. "What brings you…to my window, sensei?"

Jiraiya smirked. "Am I not allowed to visit my old student once in a while?"

"Of course you are… it's just you usually want something…"

"You wound me, Minato."

"Build a bridge and get over it," Kushina butted in. Minato calmed her with a kiss on the forehead.

"What do you want, sensei?"

"Weelll, my secret spy network informs me that you are going to go to Suna for diplomatic reasons soon."

"That's right," Minato said, accepting that Jiraiya knew a lot of things he shouldn't. "Is there something I should be worried about?"

"Iie, there doesn't seem to be some great assassination scheme that I'm aware of. But you can never be too careful, Minato. Don't let your guard down."

Sensing the seriousness, Minato nodded. "Of course, sensei. I'll have the best Anbu with me for protection, and I would never go down without a fight."

Jiraiya nodded proudly. "My precious student is all grown up~!" he sniffled, eyes glistening.

"Put a sock into it," Kushina sneered and put a finger on Jiraiya's forehead and pushed. Hard.

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah~~~~~~!"

"That was cruel, Kushina," Minato said, though the smile he was failing to hide gave it away.

Kushina also tried hard to hide her snickers.

"You're the worst lady ever!" A distant shout was heard.

Kushina stuck her head out the window shouting, "You wanna be thrown into a river?"

Minato laughed in joy. If only it would be like this forever.

If only.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Is everybody ready?" Minato commanded, showing his authority as Hokage.

"Hai!" the Anbu replied immediately.

"Then let's go. I don't want this to be any longer than it should be."

Everyone leaped off, jumping effortlessly into the treetops and travelling quickly towards Suna.

"Why isn't Kakashi-kun also with us?" Kushina asked, not seeing a Dog mask among the Anbu. "I would have thought you'd definitely take him."

"Kakashi had another mission. It's only a few days, we'll probably be back before his mission is finished anyway."

Kushina nodded. Anbu squad 13 were talented ninja, and with the speed they were going, they would reach Suna in about a day.

"Keep alert. We don't want any surprises," Minato said.

"Hai," everyone replied. They would be loyal to their beloved Hokage. Even in the face of death.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The group reached Suna without any trouble. It was nearly night, and they had been travelling nearly non-stop, so they were invited to spend the night there before discussing anything.

Minato and Kushina had a room to themselves, and they were sitting close to each other on the guest bed.

"I want my own," Kushina said suddenly.

"Hm? Your own what?" Minato asked.

"My own child of course," she replied, still remembering catching a glimpse of two of the Kazakage's own three children. Though they were unaware that the Kazekage's one year old son currently held the Shukaku.

Minato smiled. "We will have a child someday, and our child will grow up to be a great ninja."

Kushina smirked at him. "And I'm sure it will be a girl who looks just like me."

"Heh, I don't think so. I'm certain it will be a boy who has spiky blond hair. And when he becomes a genin I'll teach him the Rasengan…"

Kushina pinched his cheek, saying, "No way! I'll be the one to teach her a jutsu after graduation! Perhaps she'll have inherited my abilities with chakra chains…"

They both looked at each other, before bursting out laughing.

Minato hugged her.

"No matter what, our child will be our child, and we will love our child with all our hearts and souls."

"Agreed."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

_**Two days later…**_

Minato ran a few last checks on everything, and said a polite farewell to the Kazekage before turning to the Anbu.

"We'll set off now, at the same pace as when we arrived here. Don't let your guard down."

"Hai!"

They ran quickly over the desert sand, which took a little less than half a day. Though hidden, the Leaf ninja were extremely glad to be back in the comforting surroundings of the forest, and leapt into the branches with a little more enthusiasm than needed.

Well, Kushina never bothered to hide it.

"Ooh, this is so much better! How can Suna live in that heat?"

Minato turned his head to his wife and smirked. "If I remember correctly, you said, 'You think I can't take a little heat?' to me just a few days ago."

"Yeah yeah, don't act so high and mighty," she muttered. Minato snickered at her face.

Suddenly Minato froze, and his eyes widened.

"Alert!" he shouted, but it was too late. Four seals in each corner surrounded the group activated. The effect was immediate.

Everyone jerked and some cried out as chakra was violently pulled out of their bodies. They fell to the ground, though Minato was able to land on his feet.

"Move, we have to leave this area," Minato choked out, trying to help his wife up. Kushina was faring well, as her special chakra was harder to pull out of her body. The Anbu also made an effort to stand, but with each second everyone was becoming weaker.

Minato took out a kunai with his Hiraishin seal and threw it. Just as it was about to leave the sealed area, a purple barrier blocked it. The kunai struck into it, the seal instantly disintegrating and the kunai followed soon after. Minato cursed.

The new barrier was like a cage, sealing everyone inside. Four people were at each corner, but on the outside, so there was no way to get at them.

"Ku ku ku, can't have you doing that now can we," a voice resounded from no particular area.

"Show yourself!" Minato ordered. The Anbu were also standing with their swords or kunai out, though it was clear they were struggling to breathe let alone stay upright. With the rate the chakra was leaving their bodies, it would take mere minutes for chakra exhaustion incapacitate and after that, death.

"Putting up a fight I see. Well, that won't be happening for much longer."

The seal's power multiplied, and even Minato was unable to keep standing as his chakra left his body. His vision blurred and he panted, dropping to his knees. Beside him, Kushina was lying on her side. He tried to reach out a hand to her.

"Kushina…" he mumbled weakly, before it was too much and he slumped, unconscious.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Minato groaned as he flicked his eyes open. After a few moments, he was able to keep them open, and he scanned his surroundings. It was dark, with only candles releasing light, showing him to be in a small room. There was a passage way to the right, with stairs going up, so Minato guessed he might have been underground. There was also a wooden door at the back of the room.

His hands were shackled above his head, and he sensed chakra suppressing seals on them, made so that he had just enough chakra to stay conscious.

As his memories of the ambush finally returned, he cursed himself for not sensing the seals or any enemies. His eyes widened in horror and furiously searched for his wife. But he was alone in the room.

Minato looked up at the shackles on his wrists, and gave a little tug on them. They were thick and fastened on tightly. There was no chance Minato would be able to break them in such a weak state.

He jerked his head up at the sounds of footsteps, and eyed the two people who came in warily. His eyes glinted in recognition.

"Orochimaru," he hissed.

Orochimaru smirked at the Yondaime.

"Ku ku ku, it's been a while since I last saw you. Tell me, how's Jiraiya and Tsunade?"

Minato ignored the question, instead shouting, "Where's Kushina?"

Orochimaru's smile stretched wider.

"If you mean the red haired kunoichi, then…" Orochimaru looked at Kabuto. Kabuto walked to the wooden door and opened it, dragging out the body from inside towards Orochimaru.

As soon as Minato laid eyes on the red hair, he began struggling furiously and shouting, "What have you done to her!"

"Ku ku, I kept her alive, just for fun," Orochimaru said.

Minato ran his eyes over Kushina's body. She was unconscious but breathing, and her hands were shackled together with chakra suppressors.

"And if you're wondering what happened to the others, they are serving as perfect test subjects for Kabuto's experiments."

Kabuto grinned at this.

Minato glared fully at Orochimaru.

"What the hell do you want?" he snarled.

Orochimaru smiled and walked closer towards Minato. Minato remained still as Orochimaru stroked the side of his face, his blue eyes glared at him in silent fury.

"Isn't that obvious? I want your body, and your kekkei genkei that goes with it."

Minato glared at him in silence.

"That's right, my dear Yondaime. I know of your special abilities with time-space ninjutsu. And I want it, very badly."

"Then why not just me? Why did you have to take everyone else?"

Orochimaru laughed. He brought his face close to Minato's own.

"Why not?"

He chuckled as Minato hissed at him.

"Just let Kushina go, you have me now, you don't need her…" he said in defeat.

"Ah, but you see, it's much easier to transfer my soul to another body if they are weakened. In both body and mind."

Minato frowned, but was distracted when Kushina groaned and opened her eyes.

"Kushina…" Minato called out, and she turned her head towards the voice.

"…Minato…?" she said weakly. Kabuto grabbed her hair and jerked her head up, causing her to gasp.

"Let her go!" Minato yelled.

Orochimaru chuckled, thoroughly enjoying himself.

"Your body is sufficiently weakened, so all that's left is your mind. And what better way to do that…"

Kabuto pulled out a kunai and held it at Kushina's throat.

"…Then to see your beloved die in front of you."

Minato stared in terror at the knife at his wife's throat.

"No, please, I'll do anything!" he begged in desperation.

Orochimaru just grinned at him. "You should be thankful I'm not going to torture her. I don't have time for that, so I'll just settle with killing her."

He nodded to Kabuto.

"NO!"

It was too late. The kunai easily slit her throat. Even with the Uzumaki's longevity, there was no way she could have lived. Kushina died in mere seconds.

Minato screamed in horror and agony.

His head hung down, and his body shook. Orochimaru laughed and stepped towards Minato again.

"How does it feel, Yondaime? Does it hurt?" he taunted.

Minato slowly lifted his head. Tears were dripping down his face, but his piercing blue eyes were full of pure fury.

"I'll kill you."

"Ku ku, I think not. Soon you will cease to exist, and your body will be mine."

But this time, it was Minato who laughed.

"I think not."

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? And why not?"

Minato ignored him, instead he focused on the body on the floor. The person that he had loved so much. Gone.

"I'm so sorry, Kushina… I love you. I love you. I love you. Activate."

Minato summoned up the last drops of chakra still within him. Hidden under one of the shackles, a small black seal appeared on his inner left wrist. It spun clockwise, then anti-clockwise, then stopped and faded away.

Minato stiffened, before his eyes closed and his body became limp.

Orochimaru hissed and snarled at Kabuto, "What happened? What did he do?"

Kabuto hurried to Minato's body and ran a chakra covered hand over his head.

"I-Impossible! He's put himself into some kind of deep coma…"

"Wake him up! He needs to be conscious for the transfer!" Orochimaru screamed. He had to switch bodies soon.

"I can't! It's like his mind has been completely closed off!"

Orochimaru hissed in anger, before he calmed himself.

"Very well, get me Subject 36, I need a new body now."

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru," he bowed and disappeared.

Orochimaru looked at the body of Minato.

"You have escaped this time. But one day, your body _will _be mine."

**

* * *

A/N:** Well that's finished! I was struggling to decide whether I should show this to you later on, but it fits better hear, as it provides a good break for the next chapter.

I hope you guys aren't too unhappy that I killed of Kushina, but it plays an important role in the future with Minato.

**Also I'm aware that some of the jutsu in this have been modified to suit my needs. Please don't be too angry! I'll be explaining what Minato did in a future chapter.**

Naruto Abridged is awesome! Please check it out sometime if you haven't before.

Please review on what you think~


	32. Refer to Standard Shadow Stratagem!

_**-Christchurch Earthquake Notice-**_

I'm writing this on Tuesday the 22nd of February, and just about four hours ago at 12:51pm there was a huge earthquake in Christchurch, where I live. It was a 6.3 magnitude, but it was only 5km deep and in Lyttleton, and the damage is even more severe than the 7.1 earthquake last year. Unlike last year, this one was in daylight, where everyone was up and around, so it is really serious.

I was in the mall with my friends because school had ended early when it struck. Everyone was screaming, I could hear the loud rumble of the earthquake and glass shattering. Almost everyone ran outside afterwards.

School is out for at least a week. I saw photos of the area around my school, and it is flooded from liquefaction.

Last year's earthquake had no casualties, but this time there are 65 confirmed deaths, and that number is expected to rise. There are about 200 trapped in buildings. It is pouring down with rain right now, and I can only pray for those out there right now, homeless or trapped under buildings.

I know this may seem boring to you, as most of you are probably in the U.S… (Just guessing!) but I'm not sure if this earthquake is going to affect my writing in anyway, so I'm giving you a reason for it now.

There is no internet connection for me right now, so I thought I should write the new chapter, as I was so busy with Graphics and Art. (I know what you're thinking: Art? Are you kidding? But serious art actually has a lot of work, and I'm doing NCEA this year too, so I have to work extra hard!)

Crap, there was a big aftershock just then…

* * *

**Refer to Standard Shadow Stratagem!**

_Day of Chunin Exam Tournament_

Naruto groaned, wriggling comfortingly into his bed covers. _So… warm…_

If there was one thing good about being a human, it was the feeling of semi-consciousness and snuggling into a bed.

Obviously you can imagine why demons don't have a bed. For one, some demons don't sleep. Most demons also do not stay in one place for too long. But the number one reason is image.

And that's reasonable.

"_Ah, my almighty demon son! Ruler of the neighbouring lands! What have you got there?"_

"_It's a bed! Complete with goose down duvet and lavender pillows for therapy!"_

"…_What."_

Naruto stretched out his arm, and his fingers brushed against something…

"Hiya Naruto!"

Naruto's eyes snapped open, and he jumped out of bed into a defensive stance, glaring menacingly at the enemy.

"Oi! Easy! I'm just here to tell you not to be late to the Chunin exam tournament."

He stared at the small orange toad atop his bed.

"…Eh?"

The toad blinked at him. "Oh! Right, I'm Gamatachi! Jiraiya summoned me!"

Naruto blinked, before relaxing. "Ohhh… how the hell did you get in here?"

"I poofed here of course!"

"Uh, okay…" Naruto said. "You can go now, I'm about to get changed."

"I won't look, but I wanna follow you, cause I'm bored, and you have nice snacks," he said, popping a potato chip into his mouth.

"Hey, what the- how did you… never mind…"

Naruto got changed quickly and ate breakfast, silently glaring at the small toad that was devouring all of his chips. He left the apartment, with Gamatachi atop his head still eating.

Hopping from roof to roof, he smiled gleefully as he heard distressed cries from Gamatachi clinging to his spiky hair. Something caught his eye, and he looked down at a street beside him.

"Hey it's Hinata!"

"Who- waa!"

Naruto leapt down beside her, startling her.

"N-Naruto! Err…frog?"

"I'm a toad you- mmff?"

"Ignore that thing. He's one of Jiraiya's pets. How have you been?"

Hinata smiled and said, "I have been f-fine, my team has b-been helping Shino prep-pare for the exam."

Over the month before the tournament, Naruto and Hinata had frequently eaten with each other at Ichiraku Ramen. They were now very close, pretty much best friends. Obviously neither has confessed their love for each other, to which Jiraiya plans to do something about. Hinata has almost lost her stutter, to which she is pleased with.

"Good-luck for y-your fight, Naruto."

"Thanks Hinata!"

They reached the Chunin stadium and separated. Naruto walked onto the field, where all the other competitors except for Sasuke were. Genma, a jounin, was also there. Naruto stood next to Shikamaru.

"Where's Sasuke?" he asked.

Shikamaru shrugged. "Am I supposed to know?"

"Err…"

"The answer is no. Troublesome…"

He then noticed the toad on his head, and blankly stared at it.

"…"

Naruto blinked, before eyes widening in realisation.

"Gamatachi! Go away!"

"Aww, okay Naruto! But next time Jiraiya summons me, I'm eating your food."

_Poof!_

Genma coughed to get everyone's attention.

"Is everyone here yet?"

"Sasuke isn't," Naruto replied.

Genma groaned. _Well that totally messes up the match plans… _He sulked.

They waited for 10 more minutes, and it was clear civilians were getting restless. And ANBU appeared next to Genma and whispered something to him. Genma whispered something back, and the ANBU nodded and disappeared.

Moments later he appeared again, whispering to Genma before disappearing.

"Right, we will be starting now. This is how it is set up." He took out a piece of paper, with the match schematics. "You will all have you designated matches, then the winners of the first two fight and the winners of the last two fight. Then the winners of those fight, and the winner will win the tournament. Any question?"

"Does that mean only one of us can become chunin?" Temari asked.

"It is good if you can win the tournament, but how you fight is the key part in deciding whether or not you are fit to be chunin. That means there is a possibility that all of you will become chunin, or none of you will become chunin."

"Sasuke's not here yet, and his match is first. Is he disqualified?" Shino asked.

"It has been decided that Sasuke's match will be postponed for the moment, and the second match will begin first."

Shikamaru sighed in defeat.

"Is that all? Very well then, could everyone except Nara Shikamaru and Sabaku Temari please head towards your designated balcony."

Genma addressed the now quiet crowd."

"Welcome all to Konohagakure's Chunin Exam Tournament. This is for you to witness the most talented genin display their skills. Those worthy will be promoted to chunin. The first match has been postponed due to one of the combatant's absence. We will now begin with the second match, between Nara Shikamaru from Konohagakure and Sabaku Temari from Sunagakure."

The two fighters stood facing each other, though Shikamaru was more slouching.

"You lose if you are knocked out or rendered incapable of fighting any longer. You can forfeit at any time. Remember, just because you win, does not mean you will become chunin. Ready?"

Temari nodded.

"Actually, I'd like to-"

"Don't you dare!" Temari hissed.

Shikamaru sighed and scratched his head. "But-"

"No!"

"It's too-"

"No!"

"I don-"

"No!"

"…W-"

"No!"

"…Troublesome…"

Genma raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"So did you want to say something?"

Shikamaru tried to ignore the deadly aura coming off Temari in waves, screaming, 'If you even _dare_ to forfeit I will guarantee you will never be able to have children ever!'

"…Never mind…"

Meanwhile everyone was thinking around about the same thing.

…_Whipped…_

"If there are no more problems… begin!" He disappeared, just as Temari sent a wave of deadly winds at Shikamaru with her fan. Shikamaru did the sensible act of hiding behind a tree.

"Come out you coward!" Temari shouted, sending another gust. Slices appeared on the tree and the surrounding stadium walls. Many leaves were blown off, but it was a very sturdy large tree.

Shikamaru ignored the command and stayed behind it, but threw a kunai in retaliation. It was blocked easily, but she quickly had to jump back as a shadow on the ground chased her. She kept leaping back as the shadow continued to chase, until it abruptly stopped before retreating. Using her fan, Temari marked the spot.

"Hah, so you're shadow can only reach this far. As long as I stay behind this line, you can get me with your shadow."

Shikamaru gritted his teeth, before sitting down and putting his hands together.

"…What is he doing?" Sakura asked.

"He's done that a few times, but I don't know what he's doing…" Ino replied.

"He's thinking."

Everyone looked towards a smirking Asuma.

"What do you mean?" Kurenai asked.

Asuma chewed on his cigarette, as smoking was forbidden in the stadium. (To which he mourns.)

"Did you know that boy's a genius?"

"Shikamaru? Genius? But he's so lazy!" Ino shouted.

"Indeed he is, but I know for a fact that he has an IQ over 200."

Everyone's eyes widened. Asuma chuckled.

"And I've never beaten him in shoji…" His eye twitched. "Whenever he didn't know where to move, he would do that pose. It's his thinking pose, and it allows him to focus and come up with brilliant strategies."

Everyone looked in awe at the young genin… who was still doing nothing.

"Are you sure, sensei?" Ino asked sceptically.

"You'll see."

Back on the stadium floor, Shikamaru finally opened his eyes, just as Temari sent another gust of slicing wind.

"Are you gonna fight me or not?" Temari screamed in frustration. She was a long range specialist, so she didn't want to risk getting any closer, especially considering Shikamaru's shadow manipulation.

As if on cue, the shadow headed towards her again, but this time Temari stood there, confident the shadow would stop at the line.

"Shit!"

She leapt back quickly as the shadow passed the line and narrowly missed snagging her foot. But it stopped just a hands length past the line, before retreating.

Temari thought for a moment, before drawing a new line.

"I see, you were just waiting for the sun to go a bit lower, and the shadow of the wall to become longer. Very clever, but now I know your trick!"

"…Tch."

Shikamaru took out a kunai with a small bag attached to it and threw it into the air. He then quickly threw another kunai at it. The bag burst, exploding with little bits of paper fluttering in the air, creating thousands of shadows on the ground. Shikamaru instantly sent his shadow towards Temari.

But Temari was a quick thinker, and used her fan to blow the paper away before Shikamaru's shadow could reach her.

"Hah! That failed!"

What she didn't notice until it was too late was that the shadow wasn't going for her, it was aiming for the fallen kunai sticking in the ground from the one he threw up before. It was before the line, and it connected with the shadow before heading for Temari.

Before she knew it, she couldn't move.

"Heh, got you."

Shikamaru walked forward a little, copied by Temari. He stopped and took out a kunai from his holster, to which Temari copied but she didn't have a kunai in her hand. He held it up, about to throw.

"Forfeit," he commanded.

Temari glared, struggling to get out of the hold. Shikamaru narrowed his eyes and drew his arm back to throw.

"I forfeit! I forfeit!" She screamed, seeing no way out.

As soon as she said that, Shikamaru collapsed onto the ground, his shadow retreating.

"Urgh, finally… a few more moments and I would have had to forfeit…"

Temari stared at Shikamaru. "Wha… that was just an act?"

"Sabaku Temari forfeits. Nara Shikamaru wins."

Asuma appeared beside his student, helping him up.

"Good job, Shikamaru."

"Troublesome… thanks."

An ANBU appeared beside Genma again and talked to him before disappearing.

"It has been decided that the first match must begin or the missing combatant will forfeit. If he Uchiha Sasuke does not appear within 10 minutes, he will forfeit."

Many unhappy mutters were heard, mainly because everyone was looking forward to seeing the last Uchiha fight with a Hyuga's who's clan rivalry was well-known to all.

Eight minutes passed. Genma looked at his watch, but looked up when a swirl of leaves materialized in front of him. They disappeared to reveal Kakashi and Sasuke.

"Ah, I'm terribly sorry about this Genma, I know how much you hate unplanned occurrences. Has Sasuke been forfeited?" Kakashi asked.

"No, you had two minutes left, and another match was put in front…" he said with a twitch in his eye. Kakashi was right. Nothing pissed him off more than going astray from the schedule.

"That's good then. Good luck, Sasuke," Kakashi said before transporting to where most of Konoha 12 was.

"Kakashi! My eternal rival! What made you so late to this most youthful competition?" Gai shouted.

"Maa maa, a little cat wanted to play with the birdies a while longer than planned."

"?" Everyone thought.

"Would Hyuga Neji please come down."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Gaara stood by the corner, staring impassively at the fighting below. His sister was fighting another boy. If he wanted to, he could have told his sister that she should attack more, but he honestly didn't care.

He didn't react when Naruto sidled up beside him.

"Hi Gaara."

"…"

"So, how have you been doing?"

"…"

"Have you trained hard?"

"…"

"Do you still want to kill me?"

"Yes."

"Oh… do you hate me?"

"Yes."

"…How cruel…" Naruto sulked for a while. Then he started again.

"Who do you think will win?"

"…"

"Do you think Sasuke will appear soon?"

".."

"Is Shukaku still a psychotic maniac like I remember him as?"

That made him turn his head to face him.

"You… have met Shukaku?"

Naruto nodded enthusiastically, happy he finally got a good reaction.

"Only once, with Father." He hesitated. "They don't like each other a lot."

"…"

"…You are unable to sleep, right?" Naruto asked cautiously. Finally making progress, he didn't want to stuff it up now. He didn't know why he was so desperate to make friends with him. Probably the kinship he felt towards the demon-holder, even if the demon is crazy.

"…"

"I… might be able to help with that…"

Gaara stared at Naruto, not having shown so much emotion in a long time.

"…What?"

"Err, I mean, I could streng-"

"Sabaku Temari forfeits. Nara Shikamaru wins."

Temari came up from the stairs, cursing loudly.

"That stupid damn Konoha genin! How dare he out-smart me?"

Kankuro laughed. "Ha ha, finally bested!"

_Smack!_

"Ow! What was that for?"

"For being the stupid idiot you are!"

He sulked in a corner, and Gaara ignored their very existence.

**

* * *

A/N: **Okay, that's done! Finished in one day, so still the day of the big earthquake, but I can't upload it cause I have no internet connection. So when I can put it up, I'm sorry for it being so late.

It's the next day now, and it turns out I just had to turn the modem off and on…

Shika's fight is different for obvious reasons. (If you don't know, it's cause Naruto didn't dig a hole etc.)

Also, I based the title of this chapter off the Sontaran Stratagem from _Doctor Who_.

Comments and constructive critism welcome~


	33. Pretty Girl

**A/N:** Bleh, been a hectic few months. Had to go to school in Auckland for a while, but it's all good now. NCEA is a bitch, so I might not be able to update very often sorry. Anyway, carrying on with the story! Apologies for shortness.

**Warning, I enjoyed bashing Sasuke in this chapter.**

* * *

**Pretty Girl**

A wave of excitement rippled through the crowd in the stands. This is what they had been waiting for, the sure to be good fight between the last Uchiha and a Hyuga that was arguably the most talented Konoha genin.

The genin in subject didn't seem to pay attention to the whispering crowds. In fact, they were encouraging it, merely by staring at each other, sizing the other up.

"Uchiha."

The crowd fell silent, and Sasuke only stared in reply.

"Do not assume that those eyes of yours are superior to mine. In return, I will not declare my Byakugan any more powerful than yours."

Sasuke sneered. "Of course your measly bloodline is nothing compared to mine. The Sharingan does things you couldn't even dream of."

Neji glared back. "That may be so, but the Byakugan can also perform actions that your Sharingan can not."

"Don't make me laugh! The Sharingan-"

"Excuse me for intruding on you little argument, but can you shut up so I can start the match?"

Sasuke huffed, but remained silent.

Genma sighed. "The second match of this tournament will begin… now!" he disappeared quickly, which was a good idea. Sasuke charged furiously as Neji activated his Byakugan.

"Already pulling out your little trump card, Hyuga? Scared?" Sasuke taunted as he confidently threw a flurry of punches and kicks. Neji ignored him, or perhaps rather too busy blocking the attacks. Regardless, Sasuke was an excellent at hand to hand combat.

Too bad Neji was even better.

Neji was quick to counter, swiping his foot at Sasuke's knee and using the distraction by smashing his palm against his chest. Sasuke jumped back in time, though barely. He gritted his teeth. Sasuke realised somewhere in his mind that it wasn't a good idea to fight close combat with a Hyuga, but he was determined to land a hit to teach Neji a lesson.

He pulled out a couple of shurikan and threw them while charging with a kunai.

Neji dodged them effortlessly and allowed Sasuke to come close. This time, sasuke's Sharingan blazed, and they fought on par. Neji's quick and fluid attacks matching against Sasuke's ability to predict movements. Needless to say, the crowd was captivated.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"…I don't know whether I should be going for Sasuke or not," Naruto commented to Gaara, who couldn't care less. Kankuro was curious though.

"Why not? Isn't he your teammate?"

"Exactly, that's why I can't decide."

Naruto ignored Kankuro's confused face and continued to watch the match.

"Who do you think will win?" he asked again.

Ignored.

"Who are you going for?"

Ignored.

"Sometimes I wish I was a pretty girl."

Gaara stared at Naruto, and Naruto stared back in complete seriousness. Gaara's mouth twitched.

Naruto gasped in shock. "Did you just-!"

Gaara stared at Naruto with a blank face, though his eyes held a little more menace.

Naruto shook his head. "Couldn't have been… I'm seeing things…"

Gaara turned back to the match, but if you looked close enough, you could see the faintest hint of pink on his cheeks.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Sasuke was crouching on the wall, breathing heavily. He had thrown almost everything at Neji, almost everything consisting of various weapons and jutsu. Weapons were dodged or repelled while most jutsu were demolished with a Rotation.

He flashed through signs and clutched his right wrist. Loud chirps resounded as Chidori formed around his hand.

In the stands, Kakashi sighed.

Gai looked at him in surprise. "You taught him the Chidori?" he asked in puzzlement.

"He wanted me to teach him a powerful lightning attack to counter Rotation. To be honest, I don't know if the Chidori can even defeat Rotation."

"I guess we're about to find out."

Neji looked at Sasuke's hand through Byakugan eyes. The amount of chakra being produced caused him to squint.

Sasuke charged, gravity making him even faster and leaving behind a cloud of dust and pieces of the wall he was driving his Chidori through.

Genma resisted the urge to groan out loud. _Must you destroy the stadium walls so carelessly? The Suna chick with the big-as fan was bad enough…_

Poor Genma.

The Chidori screeched as Sasuke race down then across the ground. Neji calmly crouched down with one arm up and another by his feet, but his face was set in concentration. Messing up was not an option.

"Rotation!"

"Chidori!"

The lightning covered hand smashed into the spinning wall of blue chakra. The wall effortlessly kept the attack back, but the Chidori was powerful and stayed put. Everyone held their breath, their eyes wide in anticipation. The screeching upped in volume.

Then the area exploded.

Dust flew everywhere, and people coughed and spluttered, trying to see through the dust cloud. Eventually it settled, and everything was silent as people took in the sight.

A clean circle surrounded Neji, and Neji himself was posed almost as if he had never moved. Sasuke however… The Chidori wasn't self-sustaining, unlike the Rasengan, and used a lot of chakra. He couldn't supply enough chakra for the jutsu. As soon as the Chidori weakened, the ferocious spinning wall of chakra won, blowing Sasuke away.

He slammed into the stadium wall, about 3 metres up. Now he lay slumped against the wall, unmoving.

Neji slowly stood up, eyeing Sasuke warily. He looked around for Genma.

"**I'm not done yet.**"

Everyone looked towards Sasuke, who was getting up slowly. His body was surrounded by dark purple chakra, and the strange marks spread from his neck, burning orange and red.

"**You…**"

The Sharingan blazed furiously as he looked up.

"**Are dead!**"

Sasuke disappeared, and Neji was lucky he had activated his Byakugan as soon as he saw him getting up. Neji jumped to the side and Sasuke slammed his heel into the ground he had been standing on.

Neji didn't even land when Sasuke charged again. Rotation pushed him back. Both fighters landed at the same time.

Neji got into a stance, different to Rotation.

Sasuke started charging.

"8 Trigrams, 64 Palms!"

The attack was too quick for Sasuke's Sharingan to follow, and as soon as the first one hit, he couldn't even attempt to block.

Fist after fist slammed into Sasuke in various places, each faster than the previous.

_63, 64!_

_Bang!_

Once again, Sasuke was blown back, slamming against the wall (about 2.5 metres to the left of where he previously hit).

He slid down, but this time he was moving, struggling to get up after the attack. The 8Trigrams 64 Palms had closed 64 of his chakra points, effectively sealing of the curse mark's chakra from spreading through Sasuke's body. Without chakra, chakra exhaustion quickly set in, and he fell forward, unconscious.

This time, Genma appeared and checked Sasuke's body.

"Uchiha Sasuke cannot fight any longer. Hyuga Neji is the winner."

The crowd cheered. Naruto rolled his eyes.

"I bet most had been cheering for Sasuke," he commented.

Kankuro looked at him. "Isn't he your teammate?"

Naruto looked at him as if he was incompetent. "Yes, he's my teammate. Why do you think I haven't insulted him yet?"

Naruto left him with a puzzled face on.

The medics appeared and carried Sasuke away. Neji breathed deeply. That fight had taken a lot out of him. He walked slowly back up to the stands.

"Nice one, Neji!" Naruto shouted eagerly as he came up.

"Hn," he replied and gladly sat in one of the seats.

"Could Uzumaki Naruto and Sabaku Gaara please come down."

Naruto turned to Gaara.

"I guess it's our turn."

Gaara nodded stiffly and descended the stairs, with Naruto following behind.

"Temari?"

"Yes, Kankuro?"

"Why is Gaara being so… uh… nice-ish to Naruto."

"I don't have a single clue."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

_**Flashback~ (you know you love them)**_

_Gaara sat on the roof, looking down of the lights littering the streets. It was close to 11 o'clock._

"_I agreed to wait until the Chunin exam to kill you," he said suddenly._

_Naruto sighed and sat down next to Gaara, who was silent, but glaring at Naruto._

"_What are you doing?"_

"_Just trying to be friends with you."_

_It was silent for the next 10 minutes._

"_Do you like being alone?" Naruto asked finally._

"…"

_Naruto also stayed silent. Gaara stared at Naruto, and frowned. _Why do I feel… like talking? I want to tell him… everything.

"_I don't feel anything about being alone. I just am."_

"_But that's not fair."_

"…"

"_What about your brother and sister, don't you ever try to bond with them?"_

"…_They are scared of me."_

"_And why do you think that is?"_

"…"

_Gaara looked at Naruto closely. "Why are you talking to me?"_

"_Because I wanna be friends with you."_

"_Sure, I'll be friends with you."_

_Naruto stared wide eyed at Gaara._

"_D-Did you just use… sarcasm?"_

_Gaara stared at him. "No."_

"_Holy crap you did it twice! Next thing I'll be seeing is you smiling!"_

"_Hn."_

_Silence._

"_But, I really want you to consider being friends. Don't you just feel… I can't really explain it, but it's like… kinship?"_

"…"

_Yes, Gaara did feel that. Not that he was going to say that out loud._

"_Why can't we be friends?" Naruto whined. He sounded like a child that had been denied sugar._

"_Mother wants to kill you."_

"_Yeah, that would put a damper on things…"_

"…"

"_Gaara, don't worry about what Shukaku thinks. He wants to kill everyone. You can tell him I'm sorry for commanding you, but you were about to ruin my friend's life. I promise I won't do it again."_

"…"

"_So, do you want to be friends?"_

_Gaara wordlessly stood up and walked towards the edge of the roof._

"_I still want to kill you…"_

_Naruto pouted._

"…_but not as much."_

_Naruto beamed as Gaara disappeared._

It's progress, albeit slow progress.

_**End Flashback~ **_

* * *

**A/N:** Yup, sorry, that's the end of this chapter. I didn't want to go into Gaara and Naruto's fight at the end of the chapter.

Buuuut, I also feel bad about only writing 6 pages, so I will be putting a special below! Read if you like, and review!

_**Fred**__(This short story is optional for you to read!) _

Once upon a time, deep inside a mysterious forest, there lived an ant called Fred. He spent his days lazing around under the toadstool he called home.

He had on a straw hat and a small piece of straw in his mouth today, and he was lying against his home like he always did when he heard a voice.

_Please, help me._

Fred looked up and around. There was no one around, but where did the voice come from?

_Help me Fred!_

Now he was freaked out. Not only did the mysterious voice know his name, it seemed as if it needed his help!

"Never talk to strangers, Fred!" he reprimanded himself.

_I'm not a stranger, Fred! I know everyone in this forest. I am Tree._

Fred looked at the first tree he saw.

"Talking tree say whaaaa?" he shouted at his 'pee tree', where he frequently… you know…

_No! I am not that tree! And I know what you do!_

Fred flushed. Literally. His pee tree had a little toilet in its trunk.

_Please focus, Fred! I am being hurt! Only you can save me!_

Fred smiled. "Okay Tree, I'm bored with my life anyway. Where are you?"

_Just follow the sound of my voice... Treeeeeeeeeeeeee.  
_

Fred marched on, following the sound of Tree's treeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. He munched on a blade of grass.

"Um, excuse me Tree."

_Yes Fred?_

"Can you, like, say something a little more interesting?"

_Excuse me?_

"Well, I've been hearing you just eeeeeeeing the entire time, how 'bout a song?"

…_uh, okay… It's Friday, Friday. Gotta get down on-_

"STOP! WHAT THE F#%^ %^&^*&* *&^%$^% WAS THAT! SING A DIFFERENT SONG!"

_Hmm… Well you're a hot mess and I'm fallin' for you, and I'm like hot-_

"What the heck is wrong with you! Don't you know any decent songs?"

_Well… I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts!_

"…You know what, just say tree…"

_Okay! Treeeeeeeeeeeeee.  
_

"Urgh…"

Fred kept walking, until he came across a small clearing. There stood Tree, in all its glory… of being run on by some ninja. The red wearing ninja had hideous pink hair, and she was running vertically up Tree, slashing Tree, then jumping down.

_Please help me, Fred! She is killing me!_

Fred summoned up all his courage and marched to the base of Tree, looking up at the running girl.

"EXCUSE ME! ME AND TREE WOULD LIKE YOU TO STOP- HOLY SHI-!"

_**Squish.**_

The end.

Don't worry, you'll be glad to know that Fred went to heaven, and Tree learnt a new song!

_And I was like, baby, baby, baby, ohhh! Like, baby, baby, baby, nooo! Like baby, baby, baby, ohhh! I thought you'd always be mine, mine!_

P.S. I do not own Friday, Hot Mess, that coconut song, or Baby. I'm sorry if I've offended anyone.

P.S.S. That brings it to about 8 pages! Not as much as the last chapter, but hopefully I can make the next chapter even longer ^^

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

_**Sneak preview~ (That will probably appear in the next chapter. Probably)**_

_Gaara stared at him in silence, and the jounin shifted nervously under the blank stare._

"…_No."_

"…_Excuse me?"_

"_I said no."_

"_Uh… no?"_

_Naruto butted in. "How many times does he have to say it! No means no!"_


	34. Yes its that time

Yes, unfortunately it has come to this. I know most of you getting this alert will be like:

I don't even remember this story lol.

Yeah... I tried to get back into Naruto but I couldn't, and I've just realised how crappy my writing used to be blah blah blah excuse after excuse.

Really sorry... I hope you atleast enjoyed the journey a little ^^

So yeah, this story is officially **abandoned.**

It was a good run, my first multi-chapter fic, and I have many memories writing this.

Thank you all for the support, I'm sorry to do this.

Til next time-

FiOeX


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